Bonds of Blood
by strider84
Summary: When Peter betrays the Potter’s and Voldemort goes to fulfill the prophecy, Harry stops him but his younger twin siblings are given the credit. Over the next year Lily and James are caught up in the fame and fortune of having the ChildrenWhoLived and Har
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter and everything to do with him and the books. All I'm doing is having some fun with the "what ifs".

Summary: When Peter betrays the Potter's and Voldemort goes to fulfill the prophecy, Harry stops him but his younger twin siblings are given the credit. Over the next year Lily and James are caught up in the fame and fortune of having the Children-Who-Lived and Harry is pushed into the background and loses their affection and love. When Sirius finally realizes what is going on, he and Albus come up with a plan to not only give Harry the childhood and life every child deserves, but also save two other young boys from a similar fate.

A/N: This is my first fanfiction story ever, so any and all comments are welcome. Please leave a review!

Chapter One

A man with long black hair and stormy grey eyes stood upon a small hill on the north side of Godric's Hollow. From his post he could see most of nine fairly nice and well-kept houses. More importantly, he could clearly see one house that didn't belong amongst the others. To any Muggle walking down the street the Potter's house fit nicely between Mr. Manson's and the Tanners' place. But to the man, the Daily Prophet reporters, and the mob of well-wishers, it was a game of "which of these things doesn't belong" a two year old could win.

With a silent ripple of movement the man was gone, and a large black dog was running down the street towards the Potter's well lit mansion.

2 Days Earlier

Albus Dumbledore had never seen Sirius Black so serious. Over the four years of fighting during the war he had watched the man before him change. As a brash, arrogant sixteen-year old he had sent a classmate down a dark tunnel to a werewolf, and called it a joke. As a young auror he brilliantly led his peers into battle, with a dedication that astounded even those who were said to know him best. Even so, the Sirius sitting in before him now was one that he hadn't encountered before. His eyes were stormier than ever and his right hand kept clenching and unclenching as though he was trying very hard not to break everything in the office. Seeing as Sirius didn't look as though he was planning on starting a conversation anytime soon, Albus decided to take the initiative.

"Sirius, you said you had something important to discu-"

"I don't believe him. I've known him since I was eleven. He was the first person who completely disregarded my family and looked at me for me." A small weight settled in Albus's gut.

"What did James do, Sirius?" he asked quietly. For the first time since entering the office Sirius turned his head, face twisted in pain, and looked Albus straight in the eyes.

"He's abandoned his son." It had been almost two years since Albus had heard anyone's voice so dead. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. 'James,' he thought, 'how could you?'

"Sirius, I know this sounds patronizing, but are you sure?" Instead of answering definitively Sirius shifted his gaze to the widow near Fawkes' perch.

"I went over last night to see if James was going to the Quidditch pick up game. Ludo was spreading the word about it yesterday for Arthur. Amos and Kingsley were talking about going and I knew if James came it would be a blast. Arthur thought that it would be a way for us to work off some stress. Seems that a dead Dark Lord leads to butt loads of paperwork, it's been close to two years and I still feel like I spend more time behind a desk than out in the field. Anyway, Gigit answered the door and told me that Lily was busy with the twins and went to get James.

I went to the kitchen to snag an apple and there he was. It looked like he was trying to get his own supper, but he could barely reach the counter, even with a stool. His clothes, they weren't rags by any means, but they hung off him like someone had just guessed at his size without properly looking at him. And his eyes, Merlin Albus, he looked so shocked when I offered to make him a sandwich. At first he just folded in on himself and said that it was ok, the house elves would be down in a minute. Then, when I sat him up on the counter and asked what he wanted on it, his eyes lit up like Christmas had come early. Dammit Albus, he's three! No one should look that happy to have someone pay attention to them! No one!"

By the time Sirius had finished his explanation he was back to clenching his fists and looking like he needed a physical release for his anger.

Albus felt his heart constrict he contemplated this new information about the Potters. He was angry, confused, and disappointed in two students he had always been proud of. He had seen the family enough over the past years, he should have noticed someth-

"I should have known." Sirius's voice broke through his self berating. "I've been there enough over the past few years. I should have know something was wrong when every time I asked about him they told me he was fine, doing great and 'oh Sirius, little Harry is just so independent these days' and then plopped one of the twins into my arms. I always brushed of the looks they gave each other. I'm just as bad as they are. I figured I owed my life to the twins and as long as Lily and James said he was ok, then I didn't need to worry about Harry. For Merlin's sake, he's my godson!" Sirius buried his face in his hands and let out a groan. Albus leaned back in his chair and shifted his gaze to Fawkes who cocked his head and regarded his master with a question. Looking back, he asked, "What are you thinking, Sirius?"

"I want to take him. I want to take my godson somewhere where he will be loved." Albus steepled his fingers and turned to stare into the fire. Ten minutes passed, then half an hour. Only years of fighting Voldemort, where patience was the key to a successful mission and the loss of it meant death, kept Sirius from pulling his former headmaster out of his meditation.

Finally, Albus turned and looked at Sirius, "I believe I know what we can do."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter and everything to do with him and the books. All I'm doing is having some fun with the "what ifs".

'Thoughts'

"Speech"

Chapter Two

Harry Potter woke up Thursday morning with sunlight coming through his window and two eyes the size of tennis balls looking at him from over the side of his bed.

"Morning, Gadget."

"Good morning young Master Harry. Mistress Lily is wanting Gadget to be making sure that young Master is ready for young Master Anigo and Mistress Amaryllis's birthday party this afternoon."

Harry sat up smiling and held out his arms to the house elf. Gadget picked up the little three-year old and carried him to the bathroom. Gadget knew that Harry could walk. In fact he had seen Harry take his first steps. Master and Mistress had been so proud, making sure each moment was captured. Of course that was before Voldemort, when his Master and Mistress still treated their eldest son like he was part of the family.

He also knew that as independent as young Master could be, like every other child his age, he loved to be held. To know that there was someone out there who could stand to be near him, even if that someone wasn't even the same species.

Harry happily played with his rubber dragon while Gadget washed him. When he got to Harry's face he silently handed over the wash cloth so that Harry could wash the lightning bolt shaped scar that adorned his forehead by himself.

After the first time that Gadget had given his young Master a bath, the night after Voldemort's attack on the Potter's children, he had set Harry off bawling when he had tried to wash the fresh scar. After Gadget had calmed Harry down they had come to a silent agreement. Gadget would make sure that Harry's body was clean and in turn only Harry would wash his face.

The news spread quickly throughout the Potter's house elves; the only one who touched young Master's scar was young Master.

When Harry was sufficiently washed and a nice rosy pink, Gadget carried him back to his room to get dressed. Harry's room was nice enough. About half the size of the one the twins currently shared.

He had his bed under the window that looked out over the back yard and two bookcases against the opposite wall. The bookcases were filled with books that he had borrowed from his younger siblings and the Potter library. He had found that as long as Anigo and Amaryllis didn't complain his parents didn't mind if he used their things. Books, he had found, were the only things they didn't mind if he borrowed.

Sometimes, though, he would take their toys, just so that his father would sit him down and tell him that it was not nice to take things from other people, especially not someone who had helped in saving his life.

Or so his mother would ruffle his hair and tell him that he had lots of nice things in his own room and the toys belonged to his brother and sister because they had done a great thing and people wanted to thank them.

But he did it anyway so that for a moment his parents would look at him and for a little while he would feel like he was theirs too.

Gadget pulled out Harry's favorite outfit and Harry dressed himself. The light blue jeans were the only ones that really fit him along with a long-sleeved green shirt that matched his eyes. The shirt had a flying Antipodean Opaleye on the back that was breathing fire. The fire came over the right shoulder of the shirt and down the sleeve. Harry loved how the scarlet flames looked like they were actually burning his shirt when he moved his arm.

Whenever the house elves came across Harry's laundry they did what they could to make it fit, but it still wasn't the same as having clothes that fit in the first place.

Harry rode on Gadget's back down to the kitchen where he ate a half slice of toast with butter and strawberry jam along with half a scrambled egg and a small glass of milk. Then he went up to his room and pulled out his favorite book and climbed on his bed to look at the pictures.

His favorite book wasn't like the other books that Harry had accumulated. In Sparkle the Unicorn and The Little Lost Phoenix, when he pressed the words a woman's voice would tell him what the word was. When Harry had found the book in the grown up library three months ago he had been confused when pressing the words did not illicit the help of the woman.

Then he had realized that this book had lots and lots of words and the woman might not know them all. He had forgiven her then, because he knew that when he didn't know the answer to something he didn't like to say anything either.

Harry soon found out he liked when the woman didn't tell him how it was supposed to go. In this book he liked to make up stories for each of the creatures and tell himself, and sometimes Gigit, Gadget or Wink about the unicorns whose heads turned into birds and the birds that could turn into fire and the people whose legs had turned into fish.

When he got to the page with a big bear-like dog he smiled at the proud creature with its head held tall and tail sticking straight out; then dissolved into giggles as the doggy lost all composure and started wagging its tail, and according to Harry, smiling at him with its long pink tongue lolling out the side of its mouth.

Suddenly Harry realized that he had seen this dog. He tried to remember where but couldn't seem to place it. All he knew was that it was a very long time ago, before the green light.

Then, thoughts shifting abruptly, as three-year old's do, he remembered the man he had met two days ago in the kitchen. Sirus (a/n: seeing as Harry is three he translates "Sirius" into "Sirus") is what his daddy had called him.

Sirus had been so nice. He had talked to Harry and made him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and didn't say one word about Anigo or Amaryllis. Then Daddy had come in and Sirus and Daddy had started yelling at each other.

Harry had been so scared that he had run and hid in the closest safe place that he could find. Then, when the yelling had stopped, he had gone to his room and didn't come out until Gadget had come and gotten him for supper.

Sirus and Daddy had scared him when they had been yelling, but still, Harry hoped that he would be at the party tonight. Maybe he would pick him up again. Harry had liked that a lot, it had made him feel important.

Harry had heard from Gigit that everyone was going to be there. Harry was young but he had figured out that when lots of people came over, when anyone came over really, that they didn't want to see him. They wanted to see the twins.

Harry looked down at his hands. He didn't understand why it was so important to have scars on your hands. Mommy and Daddy didn't either but the twins did and that somehow made them special. They both had identical stripes of scared flesh running lengthwise across their palms.

Amaryllis also had a scar on her cheek that everyone declared looked like a check mark, and Anigo had a scar that ran from above his left eye to the bridge of his nose. Harry frowned and looked out the window.

'Why doesn't anyone ever want to look at my scar?'

Thanks to alwaysariyana for your review! It made me feel important.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter and everything to do with him and the books. All I'm doing is having some fun with the "what ifs".

A/N: In the last chapter when Harry is talking about his favorite book he is referring to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The copy that the Potters have has a picture for every creature, and because it is a wizard's book all the pictures are animated. The unicorns whose heads turned into birds are Hippogriffs, the birds that could turn into fire are Phoenixes and the people whose legs had turned into fish were Merpeople. Thanks for reading!

'Thoughts'

"Speech"

Chapter Three

It was almost 5 o'clock when Lily came into Harry's room carrying a rather nice-looking set of robes and hung them on the knob of the dresser.

"Harry, put these on quickly and then come downstairs. The guests will be here soon and everything has to be perfect for the twins' party." She left as quickly as she had come with only the barest smile in Harry's direction.

Harry slid off the bed and walked over to the robes. At the sight of them he felt something twist in his gut. These were like the bad clothes. The ones that made it hard to play in because they would fall over his hands and make it hard to walk. Harry felt tears start to prick the back of his eyes. Everything had to be perfect for the party; his mommy had said 'everything'! Somehow Harry knew that the clothes wouldn't make Mommy and Daddy happy.

Suddenly Harry had an idea. Maybe he could make it all better. Harry forced himself to think about the night with the scary man and the green light. It was something that he hated to do, remembering such a feeling of fear.

He remembered that he and Mommy had been putting the babies to bed when they had heard Daddy shouting something downstairs. Mommy had grabbed her "special stick" and started saying things while pointing it at the door. She had cried when the scary man had come through the door and until that moment Harry hadn't felt all that afraid. When his mommy had started to cry was when the small child had realized that there was something profoundly wrong; Mommy was the one who was suppose to make things better, she wasn't suppose to cry.

Mommy had cried a lot of things but the only part that Harry could remember was, "Not my babies, please don't hurt my babies!" Then the scary man had said something and Mommy had fallen to the floor. Harry was left alone standing in front of the crib, the only thing between the scary man and Mommy's babies. Then the man had said, "Good-bye little Potters" in his cold voice and the green light had come.

Harry remembered that he had balled his hands at his sides and squeezed his eyes shut as tight as he could, all the while wishing with all his might and hoping with all his little heart that the green light would not hurt the babies.

Then there had been pain, so much pain as his head felt like it was splitting open. Whole body on fire he fell backwards into the crib. He vaguely remembered the babies crying and a scream and then nothing.

Harry shuddered as he looked at the robes and gently touched his forehead. There was something there, always there, like a shadow. But he never saw it when he looked at his reflection and he could never wash it away. Gadget had tried to wash it once but Harry had started to cry. He didn't want anyone who loved him to touch it. He didn't want them to get the shadow on them too.

Dropping his hand Harry looked back at the robes. Maybe if he wished hard enough he could fix them. Maybe then they would turn into good robes like his dragon shirt. So Harry balled up his fists and closed his eyes and wished with all his heart that the robes would change so he could wear them to the party.

Harry was concentrating so hard that he didn't hear Gadget come into the room. When the house elf touched his shoulder he gave a yelp and jumped four inches into the air.

"What is young Master doing?"

"Changing the robes."

"But what is wrong with young Master's robes?"

"They…" Harry turned to point to the ill-fitting robes and was a little shocked to see that they had changed. He gave a yelp of happiness and threw his arms around Gadget.

"Worked! It worked!" Needless to say the house elf was a little confused, but he just smiled at his ecstatic young Master.

"Let us get young Master dressed. Mistress Lily will be wanting young Master downstairs." Harry happily put on his new clothes and bounced down the stairs. This party was going to be perfect. Mommy had said so.

Headmaster's Quarters: Hogwarts

Albus Dumbledore stared at his reflection in the full-length 18th-century mirror. Fawkes flew from his perch to the headmaster's shoulder.

"What am I doing, Fawkes?" he asked as he stroked the bird's head. "Wizards look to me for guidance; they place me on a pedestal and regard me as some sort of moral compass. How do I justify this to them? I don't see how parents will welcome a kidnapper as the headmaster for their children." Fawkes pulled his head away, cocked his eye, and gave a very good rendition of a raspberry. Albus chuckled and turned to look at his pet.

"You are right, my friend. What good am I to anyone who looks at me if I can't even follow my own moral code, and help a little boy in need?" He sighed and went to grab his cloak, "I fear I have become far too comfortable in my position of power, my dear Fawkes. I have begun to forget that for all my power, the world does not run by my hand, and it would continue to do so if my hand were to be taken out of it." As the master and his phoenix headed to the Apparition point Fawkes let out a cheerful trill.

"Yes my friend, those were the days of heroes." When they had passed the archway to the great hall a man stepped out from the shadows and watched their retreating forms.

'Curious,' he thought as he continued on his way.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Your encouragement makes me want to write more!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter and everything to do with him and the books. All I'm doing is having some fun with the "what ifs".

A/N: Thank you all for your reviews! I hope this chapter answers most of your questions, especially the ones about the twin's scars. Just so you know I am not in any way trying to justify the Potter's treatment of their son, I just thought that I would write the situation from Lily's point of view.

'Thoughts'

"Speech"

Chapter Four

Lily showed the Diggorys where to put their gifts and smiled at little Cedric before starting to walk over to where the twins were playing with James on the rug. It had been almost two years and still, every time she looked at them she felt a little spark of joy.

She had come so close to losing them that night, and they had saved her, saved them all. Something she was only too proud to let the wizarding world know. She smiled; they were cute as only small children could be. They had her flaming red hair, matching hazel eyes with flecks of jade and chubby cheeks along with huge smiles. She turned at the sound of someone coming down the stairs to see a mop of dark brown hair and bright emerald green eyes.

As soon as Harry entered the room he went over to his siblings and sat down on the floor with them. Lily sighed, Harry was so independent. He was only a year older than the twins, but it was already like he didn't need her anymore.

She shook her head. The twins on the other hand were in constant need of her care and affection. It was a need that she was more than happy to oblige.

Harry sat down on the floor with the twins. He liked them well enough. Sometimes he would play with them and their mountains of toys. At his father's prompting he gave them each a hug and wished them a happy birthday.

"Harwy!" Anigo was the more vocal of the two; Amaryllis just giggled and tried to pull his hair. After Harry felt he had been sufficiently abused he got up and went to look at the table full of presents. The twins were not alone for long as the gaggle of well-wishers began to crowd around in order to catch a glimpse of the famous scars.

Anigo and Amaryllis willingly held out their hands to the crowd of admirers.

"Powerful magic it must have been to leave those scars."

"Powerful wandless magic, that's what the experts said."

"My sister told me that the magic left scars because they were so young, she's a Healer."

"The scars on their faces, those are a result of the curse."

"Strange things, cursed scars. Sometimes they are in the shape of symbols, like Amaryllis's, and sometimes they are just jaded and deep, like Anigo's."

"Don't they have another kid? I thought I heard something about him having a scar as well."

"Oh that. He just had a cut from the falling ceiling that picked up some residual dark magic from the killing curse. The healers treated it. Should have healed without a scar."

"Oh, right. Funny shape though wasn't it?"

"Don't know, I think I heard something about a jagged mark." That being determined, all talk of the third sibling was dropped in favor discussions concerning the twins. The said twins didn't really understand what was going on around them. They could care less about wandless magic and cursed scars. In fact they didn't even remember how they had gotten their scars.

They didn't know about the super-heated magic looking to escape Harry's body. Didn't remember he had fallen back against the crib, heating the metal bars. They barely recalled going to grab them and burning their hands, leaving behind their now famous scars.

The irony in the twins' scars was that they needn't have scars at all. If the Healers had been able to treat all three of the children without the interfering bias of the Aurors and the Potters, they would have treated their hands with a burn potion and their cuts with healing charms. However, since they had been convinced that all of the twins' wounds were from powerful magic and a curse, they only applied a pain lotion to their hands and stopped the cuts from bleeding, thus allowing all six marks to scar.

Harry's cut on the other hand had been healed to prevent it from scarring. No one, except the house elves, had yet to realize that it hadn't worked.

Albus Dumbledore arrived at the Potter Mansion's Apparition point at exactly 5 o'clock pm and made his way towards the house. He noted that even with so much light out the house had been lit up to look like Christmas in July. Albus briefly wondered about prophecies and birthdays.

The Healer at St. Mungo's had documented Harry Potter's birth at 12:01 the morning of August first and the twins at 5 o'clock pm July 28th. His thoughts wandered to the night that he had been hastily summoned to the Potter's almost two years ago where upon his arrival at the mansion he had found a beaming Lily and James holding their twins and telling everyone how they had killed the greatest dark wizard of all time.

Harry had been sleeping sprawled on the sofa and the Aurors had been explaining the details of "You-Know-Who's" demise at the hands of Anigo and Amaryllis Potter, now hailed the Children-Who-Lived. While the twins had residual traces of magic on their hands, Albus's personal opinion after hearing the Potters' account of that night was that Harry was the more likely candidate for defeating Voldemort.

There was something about the cut on his head besides the shape and traces of dark magic that Dumbledore couldn't place. Plus the position the three children were found in just didn't seem right. In fact, if it hadn't been for Sibyll Trelawney's prophecy he would have personally hailed Harry Potter as the Boy-Who-Lived. As it was he had simply repositioned Harry's limbs so he would be more comfortable, covered him with a blanket, and wished the Potters good night. After all, he had needed to find his spy.

Shaking thoughts of the past from his mind and with a renewed twinkle in his eye, Albus knocked on the door. Now was time for the present, a party, and an abduction most foul.

As soon as Sirius saw Albus enter the house the dog made his way to the back door. The plan was simple enough. Sneak in without the rest of the Marauders seeing him, get Harry alone, change back into a man without scaring the poor kid, and hope that James hadn't taken the time to teach his son about stranger danger.

If that didn't work Albus was there with some bullshit story about how the twins needed all their parents' love and attention because they were the Children-Who-Lived and Harry would just get in the way, so it was better for everyone if he was taken out of the equation for a while.

The rebellious part of Sirius made itself known as he pushed open the back door. He didn't want to do this legally. He wanted to "kidnap" Harry, to make it a scandal in the Daily Prophet. To make the Potters worry about their eldest son. Part of Sirius wanted to stick it to James very, very badly.

This whole thing made him think of his own parents. True, it wasn't exactly the same situation, but still. He had told everyone that he had run away from home at sixteen because he didn't agree with his family's views on life and alliances. That was really only part of the reason.

They were still his family, no matter what they disagreed on. But they had a "join us or die" mentality and he had found out on his sixteenth birthday that he was dead to them in all ways but one. In fact if it wouldn't have been such a spot on the Pureblood Black name they would have disowned him. It had hurt so much that he had fled to the only other person that he had called part of his family, and that person was now doing the same thing to his own son. In Sirius's mind, 'not paying attention to' equaled abandoning.

Sirius decided that if the Potters were on the "good" side, then for the first time in his life he wanted to be the bad guy. He smiled to himself as he thought that Albus must have similar sentiments, or he would have never allowed Sirius to go about getting Harry like this, he would have insisted on simply using "plan B."

The Animagus crouched down and slowly looked around the corner into the room currently holding the tables of presents, just in time to see the events before him unfold in a spectacular fashion. He grimaced and fought down a flash of anger as he retreated around the corner, 'This might be easier than I thought.'

Harry stared in shock at the white that seemed to be covering everything, including himself. He had left the twins to go look at the table with all the presents, they were being stacked next to the birthday cake.

The cake was a large, white sphere with 'Happy Birthday Anigo and Amaryllis' written in blue icing along with all of the twins favorite things moving across the white surface. The whole sphere was resting on the head of a dragon in the process of taking flight.

While the structure was sound enough to take a few bumps to the table, it was far from being sturdy. Harry spotted a red package in a very odd shape just out of his reach. He had just grabbed a fist full of table cloth to give him leverage when a very large man accidentally bumped into him.

The end result was an embarrassed Hagrid, a very white Harry and a cake beyond redemption. To put it mildly, James was not happy.

"Harry! WHAT were you thinking!"  
"Jus-just want to see the present."

"It's not even for you! In fact nothing about this night has anything to do with you! I want-" James might have finished his sentence but Harry didn't hear it. The little boy had fled the scene with tears streaming down his face to find the closest place to hide. Lily turned to her husband with a sigh, "Maybe I should go after him, he looked pretty upset."

"He'll be fine. I'll send Gadget after him in a minute. Let's just keep all the guests in the other room so the house elves can get this mess cleaned up."

"OK, I'll go make sure the Weasleys haven't decided to adopt two more." She giggled and left without a glance over her shoulder.

Albus frowned and faded back into the shadows. It had been many, many years since he had felt that someone needed to have some sense smacked into them. Even longer since he had felt like doing it himself.

He had a feeling he would be able to leave this party sooner than expected seeing as what Sirius dubbed "Plan A" had looked as though it would have a promising outcome.

Harry made himself as small as he could in the corner of the broom closet while the tears ran down his face. It was all his fault, he had ruined the perfect party and Daddy had gotten mad and yelled at him and Harry had never seen him that mad and Mommy was going to be mad because the perfect party was ruined and it was all his fault.

Harry wrapped his arms around his legs tighter, trying to figure out what he was going to do when he heard the closet door open.

It had taken Sirius all of ten seconds to find Harry's hiding place. He had held back for a minute to make sure that no one was going to follow the boy, and had given a growl of disgust at the action of Harry's "loving" parents. Boy was he ever looking forward to putting seven years of Maraudership and eight years of Auror work to good use in coming up with ways to pay back his former friends.

Belatedly he wondered why he hadn't seen Remus yet, but brushed it off as he went to find his godson.

Remus Lupin had been a little, okay, a lot shocked at James' outburst. He had barely entered the room, and even then he could tell that Hagrid had basically flattened the poor kid. His frown deepened at both James and Lily's dismissal of their son.

Over the past two years Remus had been keeping in touch with the werewolves that had helped in the war. He had also been meeting with some of the other magical races that the ministry had all but abandoned as soon as the fighting stopped.

Albus had first approached him with the opportunity of keeping in contact with these races. They were both of the opinion that even if Voldemort was truly, completely dead (highly unlikely) that it wasn't right to just use and abuse these magical people's trust and friendship. Meetings along with his transformations had kept him out of his friends' house for long periods of time, and only allowed for short visits.

Thinking back, he had hardly ever seen Harry, always ending up holding one of the twins. If this was how they treated him regularly in the werewolf's absence… Remus made up his mind and started after the cub; he briefly wondered where Sirius was and then smiled when he came to the corridor.

Of course, for someone who came off as self-absorbed and ignorant of anything that didn't affect him, Sirius was actually quite on top of things and in tune to the needs of those around him. He followed the very familiar sent of dog down the hallway until he came to a rather large broom closet with voices on the other side of the door.

Sirius opened the closet door and looked down at the shaking tearful mess of boy and frosting.

"May I come in?" At Harry's hesitant nod Sirius lowered himself to the floor and closed the door behind him.

"Do you remember me?"

"Sirus. You and Daddy were yelling."

"Do you know why I was yelling at your daddy?"

"No."

"I was yelling because I don't like how he is mean to you."

"Daddy's not mean! He is just scary sometimes," Harry said looking down at his feet.

"Harry," Sirius put a finger under the boy's chin and tilted his head so he could look him in the eyes, "would you like to come home with me?" Harry gave him a startled look.

"Go to your house?"

"Yes."

"Why do you want me to go to your house?"

"So your Daddy can't scare you anymore." 'And so I can give you the love you deserve.'

"Will you pay 'tention to me at your house?" Harry regarded Sirius warily. Part of him was aware that Gigit and Gadget wouldn't be there and if Sirius acted like Mommy and Daddy then he would be all alone.

However, there was something about this man that made Harry trust him, and if he said that he would take care of Harry then Harry would believe him. With deadly seriousness the Animagus placed his right hand over his heart, "I, Sirius Orion Black, on my honor as a true Marauder solemnly swear that I will pay attention to, love, and make sure that the boy before me know known as Harry James Potter, will never again feel as though he is unwanted."

Even though Harry didn't understand all of the words, he understood the meaning very clearly as he felt something warm blossom near his heart, exactly one foot below his cursed scar. With a huge smile Harry held out a hand to Sirius.

"OK." Mirroring Harry's smile Sirius took his hand and together they exited the closet, and almost ran into a smirking Remus Lupin leaning against the opposite wall.

"So, Padfoot my old friend, were you planning on letting me in on the kidnapping of your godson, or did you just assume that I would be too much of a, what was that phrase you used to use? Oh yes, a "goody two-shoes" to be involved in such an obviously illegal plan? Really Sirius, I'm saddened to think that you would disregard all our years of pranks like that." Sirius' grip on Harry's hand tightened.

"I don't know Remus, would you have? Maybe I thought that perhaps you would run to the person who saved you from biting someone and tell them that their son was being taken." The smirk disappeared and was replaced by a look of weariness and not a little bit of pain.

"No. It took me four years of war but I did figure out that good people aren't the only ones that pull you out of danger, and bad ones aren't always the ones that push you into it," he said as he looked Sirius straight in the eye. It was a silent admission of forgiveness and a question for the same.

"I know exactly what you mean Moony." Remus smiled at the use of his nickname. It was good to have his friends trust back again, who knew that it would take doing something illegal to get it? Kneeling down in front of Harry he gave the boy a quick hug.

"Take care of him for me, ok cub?" Harry gave him his solemn promise and Remus stood to go.

"Well, I have a party to get to and you have a little boy to get home." With a smile he returned to the large crowd of people. 'I wonder what they are going to do about that cake.'

Sirius turned to Harry and preformed a cleaning spell to rid him of the frosting. It wasn't as good as a bath but it would have to do for now. Then picking up the boy, much to said boy's delight, Harry and Sirius left the Potter Mansion for the last time.

Thanks for reading, please leave me a review!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter and everything to do with him and the books. All I'm doing is having some fun with the "what ifs".

A/N: I hope everyone enjoys this chapter, the next one should start to give you some more answers, and not just more questions.

'Thoughts'

"Speech"

"_Language of the Phoenix"_

Chapter 5

By the time the Animagus and his small charge had reached their new home Harry was fast asleep in Sirius's arms. Passing through the living room Sirius cast an _Incendio_ at the fire place on his way to Harry's new room. He placed the child on the bed and carefully took off his shoes and the outer layer of his dress robes. He then sent an _Accio_ at a wash cloth and a bowl of warm water and washed Harry's face and hands, frowning as Harry flinched as the cloth passed over the scar on his forehead.

Casting a light detection charm on the bed so he would know if Harry became distressed or left the room, he said a soft good night and returned to the living room.

He sighed as he sank into one of the chairs by the fire. It had been a long night. Sirius had been staring into the fire for quite a while when the implications of what he had just done hit him like the Knight Bus.

He had just KIDNAPPED his BEST friend's SON. Tendrils of panic started to weave around his heart. 'This cannot end well. James and Lily are going to be pissed. The Ministry will be out for blood because of who his siblings are. Albus and I could be thrown into Azkaban and Harry, Merlin, I'm a complete stranger that's just uprooted him from everything he's ever known and when this goes wrong his whole life is going to be thrown into chaos.'

He was halfway out of his chair, grabbing for the powder to fire call Albus and call the whole thing off, when several images passed through his mind. Albus's eyes when he had laid out their plan, Remus's smile when they had finally forgiven each other over the common love for one boy; but it was the image of Harry's frosting covered face streaked with tears, and his eyes so full of pure _joy_ every time Sirius showed him affection that made him sit back down and turn his previously shattered resolve into steel. He would ride this storm in hopes that Harry would find happiness at the end.

Harry woke feeling better than he had in a long time. He sat up and looked around the rather large room. His bed was in one corner with the door 2.5 meters from its foot. Harry's bedspread was a marble pattern of emerald, sapphire, and ebony. There were two other beds in the room, each one in a different corner, and each one had a bookshelf at the end. When Harry climbed off his bed he found he did too.

On the wall where his headboard and the length of the second bed (with the ruby, canary, and ebony marbled bedspread) was a large bay window with pillows. The wall with the headboard of the second bed and the length of the third (with the emerald, canary, and ebony marbled bedspread) contained a large window with morning sun streaming through it.

The fourth wall, along with holding the door, also had three dressers and shelves full of toys and games. Harry made his way to the center of the room and wiggled his toes in the soft rug that covered most of the floor and had pictures all over it of the creatures in Harry's favorite book.

"Ya know," said a voice from the doorway, and Harry spun around to see a smiling Sirius leaning against the door frame, "You're going to catch flies with your mouth open like that." Harry just stared at Sirius until his curiosity got the better of him.

"Is all this mine?" He couldn't quite understand why there were three beds. He really liked the one he had slept in and didn't need two more.

"For now, yes, this is all yours. In the near future however, you may have to share some of it."

"Why?"

"Well, how 'bout we get some breakfast and you get settled in a little bit more before I try to explain everything to you, okay?"

"'K." Harry held out his hand and allowed himself to be led down the hallway to the kitchen.

Harry sat in his room playing Dumbledore's Army while Sirus "took care of some things" and thought about what he had been told over breakfast. Sirus had said that there were two other boys that were probably going to be coming to live with him. At first Harry had been upset; he had just found someone who was going to take care of him. If two other kids came to live with him then Sirus would forget about him like Mommy and Daddy had.

Sirius must have noticed his distress because he got down on his knees, put his hands on Harry's shoulders, and looking him straight in the eyes said, "Harry, nothing and NO ONE will EVER make me forget about you, okay? I made you a wizard's promise, and that's not something anyone breaks lightly." And Harry had relaxed, safe in the knowledge that he would never again be alone and unwanted.

As Sirus had continued explaining about the two boys and why they would be coming, Harry found himself identifying with the other boy's situations. By the end, he found himself looking forward to their arrival.

Back when he had been a part of his family he had enjoyed playing with his brother and sister, even though they were really small and couldn't do a lot. That was one of the things he had really missed after the green light. The cool thing was that these boys were the same age as him, so they could do lots of stuff together, like explore the forest that surrounded the house.

Sirius sat in his chair by the fireplace fuming. If Harry hadn't been in the next room he would have been breaking everything he could get his hands on. When Dumbledore had called him he had been expecting something along the lines of the Ministry offering some huge reward for the return of Harry Potter, and was sending out search parties around the Potter's mansion in case he had wandered off.

There. Was. Nothing.

The Potter's hadn't even NOTICED that there SON was missing. Sirius stared at the fire with flint in his eyes. They would never, ever, get their hands on Harry again, even if he had to perform ancient and forbidden magic to prevent it.

Dumbledore sighed as he rubbed his eyes, he would have laughed if it were for the gravity of the situation. He felt like the composer and conductor of the largest orchestration since Grindlewald. He was well aware of the tremendous power that he wielded, and he didn't like it.

Sure, everyone applauded and exalted you when you succeeded, but when you failed… It wasn't becoming the infamous Dumbledore once exulted hero that bothered him; it was the countless number of people whose lives would be irreversibly messed up if this turned on them. It was enough to make him pause and wonder if it all would be better if he just stepped away and let fate run its course. At times like these his mind most clearly recalled the image of Charlotte, and with a renewed resolve Albus went back to fine tuning his plans for the evening. He had another instrument to add to his orchestra.

Gadget ground his teeth as he sat on young master Harry's bed. A few minutes before had seen him viscously shoo away Gigit. As Gadget repeatedly punched Master Harry's pillow he wondered at his behavior. A house elf was loyal to his family for life; the patriarch and matriarch of every family were given the fiercest loyalty in all things. Loyalty for the children followed, though anything from a younger family member could be contradicted by an elder. The thing was, Gadget began to realize, his loyalty to young master Harry outweighed everything he had every held for any of the other Potters. It was time to take this to the council.

Gigit watched with Wink as Gadget disapparated. As soon as the council decided on a course of action she, along with every other house elf, would know. For the first time in her life Gigit didn't punish herself for her disrespectful thoughts against her masters.

Albus was getting ready for his meeting when the head of the Elf Council shifted into his chambers.

"High Elf Zamaakus, to what do I owe this meeting?"

"We need to talk about the boy, Harry Potter, as soon as possible."

"I was just about to leave for a meeting with Lucius Malfoy. Tomorrow morning my office is yours."

"That will do Headmaster." Albus frowned as the elf shifted. The elves dealt with wizards in generalities, to take in interest in one specific wizard… He would have to put it from his mind. Right now he had a show to put on.

Zamaakus shifted from the Headmaster's chambers to his office where Fawkes was resting.

_"Hello old friend."_

_"Zamaakus, what brings you to the world of the wizards?"_

_"Harry Potter."_

_"He's the one isn't he."_

_"We believe so."_

_"I will inform the council. The Centaurs must be consulted and the Merpeople must be informed as well."_

_"It will be done."_ As Zamaakus shifted out Fawkes flew off to assemble the Phoenix Council. 'The next few years should prove to be very interesting.'

As always, please review, I look forward to your comments and I am going to try to start responding to them, so if you have any questions…


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter and everything to do with him and the books. All I'm doing is having some fun with the "what ifs".

Summary: When Peter betrays the Potter's and Voldemort goes to fulfill the prophecy, Harry stops him but his younger twin siblings are given the credit. Over the next year Lily and James are caught up in the fame and fortune of having the Children-Who-Lived and Harry is pushed into the background and loses their affection and love. When Sirius finally realizes what is going on, he and Albus come up with a plan to not only give Harry the childhood and life every child deserves, but also save two other young boys from a similar fate.

A/N: I am really not happy with how this chapter turned out, but at the same time I am hitting my head against a wall trying to figure out how to make it better. Any reviews with ideas, things you would like to see developed, or parts that you think should be rewritten would be greatly appreciated. Thanks to all of you who are still reading this story even though I have made you wait so long for it, you all are my heroes:)

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

"_Language of the Phoenix"_

_**E**_Language of the Elves_**E**_

Chapter 6

Albus arrived at the front door of the Malfoy estate at exactly 5:30 pm. He was ushered inside by a rather sharp looking house elf and escorted to the sitting room in the west wing. Not five minutes later he was greeted by an immaculately dressed Lucius Malfoy, complete with cane and long platinum blond hair tied back with emerald silk.

"Albus Dumbledore, you said you had a matter of great importance to discuss with me. Normally, I would think that it was some absurdly late interrogation of my non-existent connections to the former Dark Lord, but then you are aware that I have been completely cleared of all charges, and even you haven't yet stooped to harassment."

"I'm here about the boy, Lucius." The only indication of how bothered by the statement Malfoy was, was the shade of white the knuckles on his hand became as he gripped the cane.

"Ah, so you did not come here to berate me about yesterday's propaganda, but to force me into an unwanted conversation about the bane of my existence. You always were a gentleman, weren't you Albus. Now, if the sole purpose of your visit here was to exchange meaningless chatter about a son I only recognize in terms of legality, then I will have the house elf show you the door." Albus felt himself begin to tense; if Malfoy didn't agree to this…

"I have not come here to chat at all Lucius. I have come to relieve you of the boy, an unwanted burden. Then I will be on my way."

"And just why would I give the heir to the Malfoy estate to you? Surely you did not think that I would just hand him over because you asked. I may not care for the boy, yet I find the idea of giving you what you want even more repulsive than keeping him."

"My dear man, I would never think of coming to you in hopes of you doing anything for me. I have recently come into contact with one of your late wife's relatives who, after a most interesting discussion, expressed a desire to raise Narcissa's child. When I found out about their relationship to the boy I told them that I would present you with the option."

"Am I to believe that you now 'befriend' those who are not pureblood Gryffindor or overwhelmingly happy to be in the presence of Mudbloods?"

"Yes, and I would ask that you not swear in my presence, I would think that such things were below you."

Malfoy chuckled

"Fine, let this unnamed relation take responsibility for the creature that caused the death of my wife. DOBBY."

"Yes master, Dobby is here."

"Bring me the boy."

"Yes master." Within minutes Dobby returned with a small boy, hair the same color as his father's and eyes that must have come from his mother.

"Well here he is. Don't plan on giving him back when you find out how worthless he is. He is hereby banned from this house and all things belonging to his inheritance until such time as there is no other option but to pass them on." Without a backwards glance Malfoy strode out of the room, leaving a confused and tearful Draco and a glowering Headmaster in his wake.

In the time it took Albus to compose himself so that Draco would not think he was the cause of the Headmaster's anger, the young boy had also pulled himself together and was looking at Dumbledore covertly from under his lashes.

"Draco, I am going to be taking you to live with a friend of mine. You won't be coming back here for a while. Is there anything special that you would like to take with you?" Draco's eyes darted to the door his father had exited from, then carefully avoiding Dumbledore's gaze he quickly walked over to where Dobby was still standing, and whispered in his large ear.

Nodding, the house elf Disapparated with pop and reappeared seconds later with something in his hand that Albus couldn't identify. Draco gave a small smile to the house elf and quickly pocketed the item.

"All ready then?" Dumbledore hadn't expected much, but it still pained him that a child, any child, but especially one with the Malfoy's wealth and resources would only have one item that they considered a treasure. Most children would be begging to take all the toys they owned. 'Though if that were the case here, I wouldn't be in this position in the first place.'

In answer to Dumbledore's question Draco gave a small nod and stared at his feet. With a sigh Albus knelt down in front of the child and went to pick him up, intending to carry the boy to the edge of the wards around the Malfoy estate. But as soon as Draco felt the Headmaster's arms begin to encircle him, he gave a start and quickly backed up against the wall; eyes wide and staring.

Mentally kicking himself and cursing Malfoy in every language he knew (which was quite a large assortment) he took a deep breath and steadied himself. Albus extended one hand slowly towards the frightened boy and looked him straight in the eyes.

"I'm not going to hurt you Draco, but if you don't allow me to at least hold your hand then I can't take you from this place." A fierce internal debate raged in Draco's eyes.

Taking first one tentative step, then another he slowly made his way to Dumbledore's out stretched hand and slid his considerably smaller one into it. Albus slowly rose, never taking his eyes from Draco's. Then the two of them exited the manor.

Draco never looked back.

By 6 o'clock Harry could barely contain his excitement. Not a child to show his age by bouncing off walls, he put all his extra energy into talking.

"When's he gonna be here?Is he gonna like me?Is he gonna play with me?I'm gonna show him all the toys!And all the rooms and the the forist is the when is he coming?" Sirius sat in his chair with a bemused smile. This was the most Harry had said at one time and he was glad that there was still a part of the child that had not been repressed. As long as Harry could act like the child he was, James was safe.

"As I told you five minutes ago, and five minutes before that, and five minutes before _that_ he will be here as soon as Albus can get him here." Harry sank back into the couch thinking. Sirius was about to ask him what was so thought provoking to a small child that it would cause wrinkles to form on his forehead, when Harry's eyes lit up and he bounced to the front of the couch again.

"Is Dumblydor in my army toys?"

"Yeah, he is."

"Wow, he's the bestest one!" Seeing an opportunity to distract Harry he leaned forward and dropped his voice like he had a huge secret.

"You know, Harry, this house actually belongs to Dumbledore."

"Really?" Sirius had to try really hard not to laugh at the sight of Harry's eyes the size of saucers.

"Yep, this room, the kitchen, my room and the library were already here and when I decided to bring you to live with me he helped me add your room and the drawing room. We also changed the attic. In fact, you are living in one of the most protected houses in the wizarding world. Along with all of its other enchantments and wards, this house is what we call Unplottable. No one can find it or anything inside of it." The look on Harry's face made Sirius pause.

"What's the matter, Harry?"

"If Mommy and Daddy look, they won't find me?" 'Crap.'

"No, we will have to tell them where you are."

"But you won't tell them?" Now Sirius was starting to get confused.

"Not if you don't want me to." Harry's face lit up.

"'K, don't want them take me 'way." Sirius was about to respond when there was a knock at the door. In two seconds Harry was off the couch and running for the door. "They're here! They're here! They're here!"

As Draco stood on the strange front porch, he felt fear that had been absent in his quick departure from his home begin to snake through his body and wrap around his heart. His earliest, and only, memories of his father contained yelling and cold looks. Draco didn't understand what he had done wrong.

In fact if it hadn't been for his one memory of his mother, he would have believed that it was simply how people lived. Draco tried to hold the strange man's hand as lightly as possible. He wasn't used to touching anyone. The only person that he had ever really had any physical contact with was Dobby, and that was only if he needed help with something like bathing or dressing.

While he wouldn't call Dobby his friend (the house elf had told him to never use that word) Dobby was the only companion in his early years of life. The only creature that had shown him kindness despite direct orders from his father.

He had once asked the house elf why he was nice, and Dobby's answer had made no sense to the two and a half year old. He had said, "Young master, some orders are being so strong that one must obey them first always, no matter what the orders coming after them are being. And some promises being asked in love can never be broken if they are accepted in a way that is the same."

Draco didn't know what Love was, but the way that Dobby had said it made it sound very important. Therefore he had assumed that it was the name of the object his mother had left him. He put his hand in his pocket and looked up at the strange man with white hair not really knowing what had made him leave his home. It wasn't what his father had said because he had heard worse.

It wasn't what the strange man had said, he wasn't _really_ sure that anyone was like his mother. He had done it because of the Feeling. He had had the Feeling for so long that he had accepted it as a part of him. It was like he had lost something, something important. But nothing was missing. All he knew was that he was going to have to look outside his house to find it, and that is where the strange man said he was going.

He had almost decided against going at the idea of touching the man for a long time, but then the Feeling was so strong that it made him want to cry. So he had gone with the strange man. Now he wasn't so sure, there was a lot of outside and the Feeling didn't tell him what to do, just to do.

Draco held onto the object in his pocket tighter. As long as he had his mother's Love he would be ok.

When Gadget returned to the Potter's mansion all the house elves were waiting for him. As he passed them each one bowed to him in turn. The last in line was Gidget.

"A better elf could not be chosen, Gidget will be wishing to be going with you."

"Your words are appreciated, but the youngest master and mistress will still need you. Take care not to fail them."

"We will all hold this honor." Then Gadget went to find Master Potter. James was sitting in his study sifting through all its papers. No matter what he did, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was forgetting something.

He had checked with the Ministry and it wasn't something with work. All the bills were paid and he had no messages to return. He was about to give up and find Lily when the house elf Gadget entered the room.

Surprise in the forwardness of his house elf compelled him to ask, "What can I do for you Gadget?"

"Gadget is wishing to be let go, Master James." The statement shocked James into silence. Never had he heard of a house elf asking to be let go from a family. Finally his curiosity over rode his shock and he stuttered, "B-but why? What could we have possibly done to upset you that much? Doesn't this go against the laws of the house elves or something?" Gadget seemed to gather himself before answering.

"I request to be let go because the council requires my assistance, wizards are not privy to House Elf's laws concerning employment, and I do not feel like discussing what you have or have not done to upset me. Now, if you would be so kind as to present me with an article of clothing I would most gratefully be on my way."

James would later not be able to say if it was the use of "I" by a house elf or the fact that the large tennis ball eyes had lost their look of innocence and had become balls of ice that made him take the shirt off the back of his chair and hand it to Gadget.

The house elf gave a small nod and exited the room with a pop. James sat in shock for ten minutes before the answer to what he had been missing hit him like a well-aimed Bludger.

"LILY!"

Dobby made his way to his master's study. When he opened the door he found Lucius slouched in his chair, a half empty bottle of liquor of the desk.

"Dobby wonders if Master would like Dobby to move young master Draco's things into Mistress Narcissca's room?" Dobby had only a second to react as the leather bound journal sailed towards his head.

"How DARE you suggest such a thing!" Lucius stood, towering over the house elf. "I order you to punish yourself until you are to broken to MOVE!"

"I can't do that sir."

"WHAT!" Dobby opened the journal and pulled a sock from its pages.

"You have freed me sir." He popped out of the room before Lucius could explode at the fact that he had been tricked.

When Sirius opened the door to admit Albus and Draco he felt his heart sink. If Harry had looked in need of help, this boy looked broken. One hand was shoved in his pocket, the other barely holding onto the headmaster's.

His clothes hung off his lean frame and even though it was clear he was trying to get a feel for the two new people, he didn't let his eyes rest on any one place for more than a few seconds. Sirius gathered himself and knelt before his new charge. Something told him that a lot was riding on this first meeting and he wanted to get it right.

He managed to catch Draco's gaze and with the same confidence he had used with Harry he extended his hand, "Hello Draco, my name is Sirius, and I am going to take care of you."

Draco looked into Sirius eyes and unknowingly felt the same thing that Harry had. That for some unexplained reason he could trust this man, even though the only other man he had really known had failed him completely.

As compelling a reason that might have been for Draco to take the hand offered to him, it was the feeling that a small piece of his puzzle had slid into place that prompted him to accept his new guardian. A smiling Sirius turned Draco's attention to the boy standing next to him.

"Draco, this is Harry. You two are going to be sharing a room." Draco hadn't known what he was expecting when the strange man had mentioned another boy, but somehow the boy before him was exactly and the complete opposite of what ever "it" had been. Harry held out his hand, "Hello." "Hi."

Draco found there was something incredibly comforting in shaking a hand the same size as his own. Grin splitting his face Harry turned to Sirius.

"Sirus, can I take Draco to my room?" In slight exasperation Sirus turned to smirk at Dumbledore. "Of course Harry, but first you should at least say hi to Headmaster Dumbledore."

"Hi Dumblydor! Camon Draco!" Albus winced and Sirius laughed. Grabbing the other boy's hand Harry hauled him off towards the bedroom talking a mile a minute. Sirius smiled to himself, Draco was going to lose his ears if he left them alone for too long. He turned back to Albus and groaned at the sight of the old man's eyes twinkling like fireflies on speed.

"You knew this would happen didn't you, that as soon as Harry regained his confidence he would turn into a normal three year old monster."

"My boy, I have not the slightest idea what you are talking about," and he was gone before Sirius could come up with an elegant retort. Mumbling something about manipulative headmasters he reached the door to the boy's room and simply leaned against the door frame, watching the two of them interact.

In one day Harry had successfully shown him that raising a child was no walk in the park. He smiled at Harry dragging Draco around the room, letting him pick which bed was his (the one with the red, yellow and black bedspread) and explained how he had set up Dumbledore's Army. Sirius knew that he wouldn't trade this for anything.

Raising Harry, Draco, and Neville wouldn't be easy, he suspected that at times he would want to hex them all, but he knew that he would never resent them no matter what.

"Harry, Draco, its getting late and Draco here probably hasn't had a bath all day. You two can continue this discussion tomorrow. OK?"

"'K! Camon Draco, the closet's over here. I'll show you." So for the first time Draco picked out his own pajamas (green with black dragons) and felt more excited and strangely comforted by the presence of these new people then he could remember being. He even gave Harry a small smile.

200 miles away Dobby stepped out of a forest and into a clearing ten meters wide and in a perfect circle. At the other end was a large door formed by the branches of two trees that stood on each side as stoic guardians. Halfway across the clearing was another House Elf, and at the sound of approaching footsteps he turned to meet Dobby's bow with one of his own.

"Dobby, it is good to see you again. I was glad to hear that you had also been chosen. It has been far too long my friend."

"It has Gadget. Here I thought that you would have preferred Wink in my place."

"You words wound me so!" Gadget said with mock hurt. "Wink is needed where he is, the twins will need all the help they can get." Chuckling, Dobby placed a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"That they will. Come, we do not want to be late."

"True." _**E**_Open._**E**_ They both placed their right hand on the door and were engulfed in blackness. When the light reappeared they were in the entrance hall of the Elves Council Chambers. If the House Elves hadn't known where they had been going they would have known where they ended up. Just entering the heart of the Elves' kingdom was deeply revitalizing to both of them. The very walls of the hall beat with the heart of the Elves' distinct magic.

They made their way down the long hallway decorated in dark brick red, rich oranges, and deep browns along with dark forest green and midnight blue. Reaching the end they found themselves at the entrance to the audience hall. They placed their hands on the carved marble door and it swung silently inward to admit them. Sitting in a semicircle were the seventeen that made up the Council of Elves.

Zamaakus sat as The Vasallus in the center. To his right was the chair of Ethics and to his left the chair of Logic. In both sat Elves of the High Order. After the position of Logic was the chair holding one of the two Protectors of the First Order. Then there was the Patriarch of the oldest Family of the High Order followed by a Protector from the Second Order.

After that there were three more chairs filled with elves from the High Order, and the eighth chair was occupied by a House Elf. To the right of the chair of Ethics was the second Protector from the First Order. Next was the Matriarch from the oldest Family of the High Order, followed by a Protector from the Second Order, three more Elves of the High Order and a second House Elf.

The hall was 10 meters in diameter and each member of the council sat with their back against the wall. The ceiling was 17 meters high and a large chandelier lit the room. The marble floor was a midnight blue and covered with patterns of circles, the middle clearly marked. The walls contained such intricate designs that it would take ten life times to see all that was depicted there.

All of the council's chairs were on an elevated platform and 1/3 of its members were resting one elbow or the other on the large stone table that ran in front of all of them. Without an invitation Dobby and Gadget walked to the center of the circle and faced Zamaakus.

_**E**_House Elf Dobby and House Elf Gadget, you have been called here to enter into an ancient ceremony not performed in over 700 years. As you are both aware each Elf is born into the same Order as their parents. A House Elf to serve, an Elf of Protection to lay down one's life in service of another, or a High Elf to gather knowledge of all things for the betterment of Elves as a race.

Only under rare and dire circumstances is an Elf asked to undergo the ritual that will change them into the Elf of another Order. That being said, both of you have formed a bond with the wizard children Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy. One that is essential for the bond of a Protector to be successful. You have their trust, and after observing these two children it is not unreasonable to say that there are few whom these two are willing to give such a bond.

When you undergo the Rite of Change you will physically and mentally become a Protector. Your bodies will become taller and stronger. Your mind will become sharper and your eyesight and hearing amplified. Your problem solving and battle strategy abilities will increase tenfold.

While your personalities will stay relatively the same you will not see things the same way as you once did. We cannot force you to do this or the rite would be utterly disastrous. If you still wish to continue, place your right hand over your heart and state the oath._**E**_

Neither Dobby or Gadget hesitated, _**E**_To serve ones master is to fulfill ones destiny._**E**_ This time when the darkness engulfed them it came from the floor and when they could see again the two House Elves were once more in a forest clearing. In the middle was a square stone table and on it was a large stone cauldron already bubbling with the potion for the ceremony.

The only Elves that had accompanied them from the seventeen were Zamaakus, the two Protectors from the First Order, the Elves of Logic and Ethics and the two House Elves. At the order from Zamaakus, Gadget and Dobby stood on the table facing each other over the cauldron. Zamaakus stood on the third side and gave them each a stone goblet and a knife. The remaining council members lined up on the fourth side.

At the Vasallus' command the seven council members began to chant. Gadget and Dobby slit their hands, filled the goblets with potion, added ten drops of blood, and drank it down. Simultaneously they clutched their heads in agony. The last thing they were conscious of was the Council's chanting.

Leaving Harry in the bedroom Sirius lead Draco down the hall to the boy's bathroom. When Sirius turned to look at the blond boy it seemed as if the small amount of confidence he had gained upon entering the house had left in the absence of his new roommate. Kneeling in front of Draco he asked, "Do you need me to help you take your bath?"

"Can do it m'self."

"Ok. I'm going to leave the door open a little and I'll be right outside if you need me. The soap is here and your towel is here. Don't worry about washing your hair, we'll do that tomorrow. Just holler if you need anything." After filling half full with lukewarm water he exited the bathroom, leaving the door partway open. Then Sirius settled himself on the floor. When he looked down the hall he had to smile at the sight of messy dark hair and concerned green eyes poking out from the bedroom.

Waving the boy over, the emerald eyes lit up as he flew down the hall, and he immediately made himself comfortable on Sirius's lap. Twenty minutes later Draco was standing before them in his new pjs and the three of them made their way back to the bedroom. Sirius tucked them in and wished them goodnight before turning off the light and leaving the door open a crack to admit some light from the hall.

Harry couldn't be happier. He had Sirus and now a new brother to play with. But there was something he couldn't figure out about Draco. The other boy didn't like to be touched very much. Whenever Harry grabbed his hand Draco let go as soon as he could.

Turning to look at the other bed he was about to pose that very question when a sound stopped him. It sounded sort of like someone was trying to stop themselves from crying. Silently Harry slipped out of his bed and into Draco's. He grabbed the other boy in a fierce hug and wouldn't let go, even when Draco tried to bite him.

"Le'go! I'm fine! Don't need anybody, not anybody!"

"No." Something in Harry's voice made Draco stop struggling.

"You're my brother now. And that means we're family. My mommy and daddy were a bad family so Sirus took me and gave me a better one. Him and you. So you forget 'bout your bad family. You have me now and I'm gonna take care of you Brother, always." Finding something he desperately needed in those words and the meaning behind them Draco allowed himself to be pulled further into Harry's hug.

And that's how Sirius found them an hour later when he checked in on them. Harry with his arms around his new brother and Draco with his head tucked under his brother's chin, hand on his heart.

Vasallus means servant in Latin


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter and everything to do with him and the books. All I'm doing is having some fun with the "what ifs".

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

"_Language of the Phoenix"_

_**E**_Language of the Elves_**E**_

Chapter Seven

Gadget woke up feeling more comfortable then he had since beginning his work for the Potters seventy years ago. He smiled as he surveyed the room. Everything was just as he remembered from living in the Elf Castle. All the rooms simply and richly decorated.

Each piece of furniture was solid wood, grown out of the trees as High Elves preformed complex spells. All the cloth was silk woven by House Elves and infused with magic. The designs were simple and mostly solids, but the colors were rich and the few images so well designed that they looked real.

Pulling himself out of the comfort of the bed the first thing Gadget noticed about his transformation was his height. His growth spurt of a meter left him feeling as though his world had shrunk. He gracefully strode over to the full length mirror where his small smile turned into a look of shock. He ran his long fingers over his face, assessing the difference.

His ears were smaller and lay closer to his head. Nose and eyes were definitely smaller and looked more human. The color of his skin had softened to a creamer green and his hair was short, spiky and black. Exactly like every other Protector Elf. He smiled at his reflection, yelped, and barked out a laugh. In the whole transforming process he had completely forgotten that Protector Elves possessed elongated canines.

Opening the closet door he assessed its contents and pulled out a simple emerald shirt, black pants and a full length black coat. On his way down the hall he saw Dobby coming out of a door farther down, and the two of them made their way to the dining room. They ate a simple breakfast of fruit and nuts while Logic and Ethics explained the upcoming ceremony that would announce their new status to the Elven community, and christen them with their new names.

An hour later Gadget and Dobby met in front of the doors to the Great Hall. Upon entering the hall they were greeted with a roar of applause. The Hall was filled with High Elves and the Protector and House Elves that had not yet been assigned. Making their way to the end of the Hall they kneeled before Zamaakus who placed a hand on each of their heads.

_**E**_Loyal friends, we have come together this morning to bring two new Elves into the ranks of the Protectors. Though they could have elected to stay and serve at their assigned post, they bravely stepped forward to take on a new challenge. Their path is not an easy one. Over the next year of training they will face many hardships that glorified stories cannot fully describe.

When they persevere, and come through as the Elves we have only glimpsed them to be, they will take their place beside the children they have sworn to protect. Gadget, Dobby, those are the names of those who serve. With your new responsibilities come new names._**E **_

He spoke first to Gadget.

_**E**_Rise Aegelweard, the noble protector. Rise Vilhjalmur the resolute protector._**E**_ Zamaakus addressed the crowd and asked them to recognize their brothers. With one voice the congregation of Elves recited the oath.

_**E**_To serve one's master is to fulfill one's destiny. To protect one's bonded is to fulfill their destiny. To enlighten one's people is to create a better destiny for all._**E**_

Vilhjalmur smiled at the crowd as they cheered. Tomorrow would be hell, today he would celebrate.

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James and Lily sat on the bed of their eldest son. The past twelve hours had been filled with more thoughts of Harry than the past year. Lily turned to her husband with tears in her eyes.

"Where is he? How long has he been missing? Why didn't I notice?"

"Lily, no one is to blame. We have been very busy and assumed the house elves would tell us if something was wrong. Seeing as he is nowhere on the grounds he didn't wander off. Someone must have taken him, probably during the commotion of the party."

"But James! That was two days ago! How are we going to explain to the Profit that our son was missing for two days and we didn't even notice? They'll take the twins away from us; there are plenty of people who will want to take them just to say they are the parents of the children-who-lived! James, they can't have my babies!"

By now Lily was close to hysterics and James had only one plan to calm her down.

"Lily, early tomorrow we are going to go to the Profit and tell them that we want them to print an article saying that Harry Potter has been missing for two days. We wanted to make sure that it wasn't a misunderstanding and he accidentally went home with one of our friends or was hiding in some part of the house or on the grounds.

Now that we know that someone has taken him we are desperate for any news and his safe return. Ok? No one is going to take our children away from us Lily. We are the best thing for them and I highly doubt that anyone will try and dispute that."

"Alright." James got up to leave when his wife's voice stopped him. When he turned around she was staring at Harry's bookcase.

"Do you think he's ok?" He sat back down on the bed and gave Lily a hug. "He's fine, I'm sure of it. Father's intuition." Lily gave a halfhearted laugh and the two of them left the room.

**HPSBDMNLADRLSSHPSBDMNLADRLSS HPSBDMNLADRLSS**

It was two days after the twin's birthday party when the Phoenix Council met. The head of the council was a phoenix by the name of Aaqil (ah KEEL) who was currently the elected leader of the Alliance as well.

Along with the twelve other members he was perched at what could loosely be described as a round table, an ancient relic from the first Phoenix Council. As soon as everyone was perched Aaqil opened the meeting.

"_As we all know in twenty-seven years my one hundred years as the head of the Alliance will end and a new member will be elected to its head. As of now the prime candidates are Zamaakus of the Elves and Fahim (fah HEEM) of the Centaurs. _

_The Merpeople may be nominating Setron, but I believe that they are in agreement that he is not ready to lead such a large and diverse body. It has come to my attention that in the world of the wizards, one has been born that may be a candidate for the position. _

_Only time will tell if he has the power, understanding, and ingenuity to even be considered as a member of the council, let alone its head. The Alliance will be meeting in one week's time to discuss the actions to be taken regarding the boy. _

_Our purpose here is to elect the five individuals that will be representing us on the panel. As Fawkes works closely with the wizard Dumbledore, who is currently helping the boy, I nominate him as one of the five. The sky is now open for debate."_

**HPSBDMNLADRLSSHPSBDMNLADRLSS HPSBDMNLADRLSS**

When Draco woke up he was surprised to find there was someone in his bed. He then realized that it wasn't his bed and, furthermore, it wasn't his room. He had almost worked up to a full blown panic when the other body moved. 'Harry.'

The events from the previous night came back slowly. He remembered a strange man and leaving his home because of the Feeling. The man that he had trusted and had let him take a bath. And Harry. Harry had called him "brother" and told him to forget Father.

Draco sat trying to figure out what to do when Harry woke up, "You 'wake too? Good! Let's go get Sirus." Draco couldn't figure Harry out. As he followed the other boy into the hall, watching him practically bounce off the walls, the only conclusion he could come to was that Harry made him feel safe.

And something he would later learn to call loved.

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Remus was in pain. Lots and lots of pain. He opened his eyes and immediately regretted it. He tried to move his arm, only to find that it didn't respond to his command. Taking a quick assessment he soon found that not much of his body seemed to want to respond at all.

He tried to figure out where he was, what he was doing there, and why he hurt so much. The last thing that he remembered was going on a short mission to a nearby werewolf community, following the twin's party. After that he had headed for home.

He was about to try for movement again when he heard The Voice. He was half relieved, if The Voice was nearby then he was in a safe place. On the other hand, if The Voice was nearby then anymore time spent in this bed was _not_ going to be fun.

"Albus, really, he is not awake and you cannot question him when he is unconscious. It is counterproductive. Please, you must have other things to be going on with."

"My dear Poppy, are you quite sure that he is asleep?"

By now Remus had mastered "opening the eyes" and was practicing facial movement.

"Of course he is! No one could recover that fast from those injures. You are the one that brought him in here! Just look at –"

Remus managed a weak smile.

"Fine, but only five minutes. He really needs to conserve his energy."

"My goodness, I do believe that she is displeased with me. I dare say that we must use this five minutes to our advantage."

"What happened Albus? The last thing I remember was leaving the community. Then waking up here feeling like I was trampled by a hundred Hippogriffs."

"From what I have gathered you are not very far off. Fawkes was on his way somewhere, I'm not quite sure of the details, when he found you. I believe that you may have made a wrong turn and ended up in the Centaurs' territory. You were beaten to a pretty bloody pulp by the time Fawkes brought you back here.

Your werewolf characteristics must account for something, Poppy didn't quite believe that you were going to make it thought the night. Much less be in any state of consciousness after only thirty-five hours."

Remus groaned and closed his eyes.

"In that case I'm going back to sleep. Wake me when the pain stops."

Albus chuckled and got up to leave.

"Feel better soon my friend."

**HPSBDMNLADRLSSHPSBDMNLADRLSS HPSBDMNLADRLSS**

Sirius yawned as he poured himself a cup of coffee, giving himself five minutes before he woke the boys. There was a flash of light and Fawkes appeared. He dropped a copy of the Daily Profit on the table and with a trill disappeared again. Sirius cocked his eyebrow at the front page headline and sat down to read the article.

**Older Brother of the Children-Who-Lived Kidnapped!**

The older brother of Anigo and Amaryllis Potter was officially declared kidnapped this morning by his parents Lily and James Potter. In a very emotional interview they explained the two day delay in reporting their son missing. As all you readers know, the party of the year was held two days ago for the saviors of the Wizarding world. In the commotion of the party they believed that Harry must have gone home with one of their friends, and seeing as it was so late, decided that it would be best to let him spend the night. The next morning they called around to all of the people that may have taken him home they found to their horror that none of them had little Harry. There was of course an extensive search of the grounds and the house to make sure that he hadn't wandered off, or was hiding. By the end of a very stressful day the Potters could only conclude that during the party someone had maliciously kidnapped their eldest son. "We would have reported it sooner, but I guess, with everything being so peaceful, we just never expected that anyone would do this!" A tearful Lily told this reporter. Minister Fudge is behind the Potters 100% in getting the boy back safely. If anyone has any information about Harry Potter please contact the Profit, the Ministry, or the Potters. We hope that the brother of the Children-Who-Lived will be found quickly and unharmed.

Sirius looked up as he heard Harry and Draco coming down the hall. He casually pushed the paper aside and asked the boys what they wanted for breakfast. Yesterday he had been furious when there had been no news of Harry in the paper. Today, well, today was a new day. Harry was happy and Draco looked more confident. The Potters didn't seem so important anymore.

**HPSBDMNLADRLSSHPSBDMNLADRLSS HPSBDMNLADRLSS**

Draco was used to eating whatever was put in front of him, so when Harry asked for toast and eggs he agreed. For perhaps the first time in his short life, Draco had a wonderful breakfast, the food was different then what he was used to in the morning, but really good. And instead of eating alone he was eating with Harry and Sirus.

Harry was talking animatedly, Sirius was laughing and trying to get him to stop long enough to put food in his mouth and Draco would chime in every once in a while to add some information of his own.

Sirius was starting to clean up the dishes while Draco and Harry talked about what they were going to do that day when Albus came through the fireplace. He greeted the boys and nodded to the Profit.

"I see you've read that. Judging by the fact you're here am I to assume that James will not die today?"

"Not today." He turned to the boys.

"I want you both to go brush your teeth and get dressed while I talk to Albus."

"K!" Draco and Harry raced down the hall.

"I'm surprised to see you today Albus, was there something you needed?"

"Actually yes. Do you think you're up to another house guest?"

"You mean besides Neville? Depends on who it is."

"It's Remus."

"Why does he need-? Is he Ok?"

"Not really, it seems he wandered into Centaur territory and they trampled him. Sirius please. He's going to live. He's just going to need a place to stay with someone to look out for him while he heals."

"Yes, of course he can most definitely stay here."

"Excellent, I'm sure that he will be glad to be out from under Poppy's eye." "So would I. Oh, and Albus, Harry's birthday is in two days. I was thinking of having a small party. Just you, me, Remus and the two boys. Will you be able to come?"

"Of course."

"Do you think I could take Draco to Diagon Alley when Remus gets here? I think that Draco might like to pick out a present for Harry."

"That sounds like a good idea. Put glamour on him though. I don't want it to get back to Lucius that you have his son."

"Ok. When do you think that Remus will be ready to move?"

"Based on his progress I think that we can move him tomorrow afternoon."

"Sounds good, Harry will be really happy to see him again."

**HPSBDMNLADRLSSHPSBDMNLADRLSS HPSBDMNLADRLSS**

Harry raced Draco to the bathroom. Together they brushed their teeth. His toothbrush was a wolf and Draco's was a falcon. Then they picked out their clothes, to be ready to go outside with Sirus.

Both ended up with blue jeans and t-shirts. Harry's a bright blue with a snitch on the back and Draco's black, with a white leopard. When Sirus came to get them they went outside to explore the forest.

Harry had a great time exploring. Sirus knew lots and lots about the forest and the names of things. He and Draco had fun finding things and then asking Sirus what their names were. They even found a tree that Sirus said could be their climbing tree.

When Harry's stomach started growling Draco had laughed at the strange noise and Sirus had brought them back inside. Both he and Draco had fun deciding what to have Sirus put on their sandwiches.

He had wanted peanut butter and jelly like the house elves would make him and Draco asked for cheese. Then Sirus had packed the whole lunch into a "picnic" basket and the three of them had found a nice grassy spot outside to eat.

When they were done Sirus had shown them how to find shapes in the clouds.

Draco was having a blast. He had never spent so much time outside before. Over the course of the day he found his resistance to Harry, and especially Sirus, dropping.

By the end of the day when they had all collapsed in a pile after playing a game called tag he realized that he found more comfort than awkwardness when he was around them.

And when Sirus scooped him up and carried him inside he didn't protest.

**HPSBDMNLADRLSSHPSBDMNLADRLSS HPSBDMNLADRLSS**

When Remus came through the fireplace at 1 o'clock with Albus both boys were sitting on the couch and Sirius was in the armchair. He smiled at his new "pack" and Harry bounced off the couch to give him a hug. Sirius stood up and pulled him into a hug and Draco watched his every movement.

"Welcome home Moony." Sirius smiled.

"We had better get you into a bed, you look like you're about to collapse."

"Really, I'm fine."

"And Poppy will have my head if we listen to you. Come on now, or I will have Sirius carry you."

Harry laughed.

"Oh, you think that's funny, do you cub?"

"Yes! He's smaller then you!"

"He's got a point Moony. Maybe I should just shrink you…"

"Ok, Ok!" He held up his hands in surrender. 'Man, it has been so long since anywhere has felt so much like _home_.' Albus and Sirius helped him to the bedroom while Harry told him all about what he and Draco and Sirus had done yesterday. When he was settled into the bed Sirius turned to Draco.

"Draco, would you stay with Remus for a minute? I need to talk to Harry and Dumbledore."

"I guess so."

"Ok, we will just be a few minutes."

And Remus was left alone with the small boy. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Draco was not exactly comfortable in his presence. He sighed inwardly. 'Can't blame the boy Lupin, he's just been left in a room with a man eating monster. Most adults would have already run away.' He put on what he hoped looked like a friendly smile.

"You know Draco, just because I'm a werewolf doesn't mean that I'm going to bite you."

Draco cocked his head to the side, "What's a werewolf?"

Remus paused. Ok, so not why the kid was keeping his distance. He wondered how to explain this without being terrifying. It had been so many years since he had had to explain it to anyone and never one so young. Remus briefly thought about just dropping the subject and waiting in silence until Sirius got back. But Draco's expression pulled at him and if they were going to be living together then the boy would find out sooner or later. Besides, there was still that small part of him that had been locked away at nine years old that _needed_-. He mentally shook himself. A four year old might understand the facts, that's all he could hope for. Silently sending a sorry to Sirius that his conversation was about to be interrupted he said, "Well, um. Well it means that when there's a full moon I turn into a, well, into a wolf."

Draco's curiosity seemed to be overriding his discomfort and he took a few steps closer to the end of the bed.

"What's a full moon?"

"Have you ever looked outside when it's dark?"

"Yes."

"Have you ever seen the shiny ball in the sky?"

"Yes."

"Well that shinny thing is the moon and when it's a whole circle and not just a part of one that's a full moon." Maybe this conversation wouldn't end so badly.

"And then you get to turn into a wolf?" Maybe.

"Well, I wouldn't exactly say 'get to'."

"Why not? Don'tcha get to run real fast?"

"I guess so."

"And smell real good and hear really good?" Remus frowned. It had been years since he had remembered those parts of transforming.

"Well, yes. But I also can't control me. The wolf inside, its takes over and I can't stop it from doing bad things. I just sort of howls and I get pushed away."

"Why don'tcha talk to it, maybe it's just trying to tell you something." Remus stared, wha-?

"Hey Remus, do you think you're up to watching Harry for a couple of hours? Draco and I need to take a shopping trip." 'Curious. I'll have to ask him what they talked about.'

"Yeah, of course." Shaking himself he looked at Draco again. 'Did he have any idea what he just asked?'

"Cool." Sirius knelt in front of Draco.

"Hey Draco, do you think you could come with me for a while. I need your help with some things."

"Ok." He was excited, anything Sirus wanted to do would be cool.

"I wanna come too!"

Sirius laughed. "You have to watch out for Moony! He's really sick and he needs you to take care of him."

"Yeah cub, you aren't going to leave me here by my lonesome are you?" He did his best puppy dog eyes. Harry folded his arms and gave a huge sigh.

"Ok." He pointed at Remus, "but you have to tell me a real good story." Remus held out his hand, "promise." Harry smiled and shook it. He gave his brother a hug goodbye and climbed onto the bed, snuggling up to Remus's side to hear his story. Sirius smiled and knelt down by Draco, "I'm going to need to put a small spell on you, so that no one will recognize you. Ok?" Draco nodded. When Sirius was done the little boy had black hair and blue eyes.

"You look cool!" Draco smiled at Harry and Sirus picked him up.

"We'll see you guys later."

Sirius smiled as they left the room, Remus had started talking about how the four Marauders had meet.

**HPSBDMNLADRLSSHPSBDMNLADRLSS HPSBDMNLADRLSS**

Sirius and Draco stepped into the fireplace and out into the crowded, dingy, hole in the wall known as the Leaky Cauldron.

When they had cleared the fireplace Sirius went to set the boy down, only to find that Draco's hold on his neck had tightened. Sirius smiled and repositioned his charge. It was nice to know that the boy trusted him.

Nodding to Tom and saying a quick hello to those he recognized, the two made their way out to the courtyard of the pub.

Locating the third brick from the left above the dustbin he tapped it with his wand; and chuckled at Draco's expression when the archway magically appeared, opening into the cobbled streets of Diagon Alley.

Draco unconsciously pressed himself closer to Sirus. He had thought there were a lot of people in the dark room they had appeared in, but wow! He had never _seen_ so many people!

Almost all of them had long robes like Sirus, but some of them were different colors. There were lots and lots of buildings with all sorts of things Draco had never seen sitting outside.

Sirus turned to him smiling, "do you know where you want to go Draco? Or should be just look around for a while?"

"Look 'round."

"Alright then, let's go to one of my favorite shops first."

So He and Sirus went to a place called Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop and they had laughed so hard as Sirus showed him all sorts of things that he and his friends had used to prank the teachers and the other students at Hogwarts.

Draco had especially liked the story about the Dr. Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks. He had ended up getting Harry a pack of balloons that made your voice go high and squeaky for hours after you blew them up.

The next stop they made was to Gringotts because Sirus said that he needed to get some more money.

Draco couldn't help but stare as they walked up the steps to the bank. It was huge and white and very important looking.

They went up to the desk and Sirus started talking to a strange looking creature that Draco could only think looked like Dobby, but not as friendly. The creature took them on a really cool ride to the vault were the money was.

Sirus had put a couple of handfuls of money into a bag and then they had ridden the fun cart back up to the top. Stepping back out onto the street and into the sunshine Sirus had taken them to Magical Menagerie. They hadn't stayed long however because Draco had found it too loud and smelly.

The next stop was Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Madam Malkin wasn't that busy so after she had measured out a set of robes for Draco, she had set out to make two, one for him and one for Harry who was only about ½ inch taller.

Ten minutes later they were back on their way and Draco decided that he was hungry. Sirus took him to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. Florean was a really nice guy and let Draco pick out all the toppings he wanted. When the two of them were done eating Sirus took them to their last stop of the day, Quality Quidditch supplies.

On the way they passed Ollivander's Wand Shop.

"What's that place?"

"That is Ollivander's wand shop."

"What do you get there?"

"Well, that's were all the students going to Hogwarts go to get their wands."

"What's a wand." Sirius pulled his out of his sleeve.

"This here is my wand. You know when I point it at things and say stuff, and then something happens."

"Yeah, it's really cool!"

"Well that's because this wand is magic, it helps me do things. Helps me do magic, you see?" Draco nodded.

"Alright, let's go look at some quidditch supplies!"

'Wait till Harry finds out there's a place that makes magic wands! Maybe we can make our own.'

Draco loved the Quidditch store, and he and Sirus ended up getting two practice brooms. In fact he was so happy that he talked the entire way back to the fireplace in the Leaky Cauldron.

**HPSBDMNLADRLSSHPSBDMNLADRLSS HPSBDMNLADRLSS**

When they got back to the house Sirius reminded Draco that the presents were a secret before the boy bounded off to find Harry. Five seconds later he heard "bye Moony!" and two boys racing down the hall. Sirius took the presents into the bedroom and put them on the bed with his friend before turning to pull some wrapping paper out of a closet. Then he set the presents to wrapping themselves.

When he looked up Remus was giving him a funny look.

"I didn't take _your_ room did I?"

"Well, actually you kinda did."

"Padfoot! I would have been fine in the guestroom!"

"Come on Moony, that's up stairs, this way we're all on the same floor. Now get some rest, I'll wake you up for supper."

"But Sirius, where are you sleeping?"

"Either with the boys or on the couch. You know I can sleep anywhere as a dog."

"As a dog! Great, now I feel really bad."

Sirius laughed and punched his friend in the arm.

"You are _such_ a good guy, now sleep, or I will call The Voice over."

"You wouldn't dare."

"Oh. I would." And he laughed as Remus rolled over muttering about sadistic friends.

A while later Sirius called for the boys to wash up and to their delight he told them they were eating dinner in Remus's bed. Sirius expanded a table and set it over the bed. Then Draco and Harry sat on the bed opposite of Remus and Sirius pulled up a chair. They had chicken noodle soup and a great time.

When supper was over Sirius sent the dishes to clean themselves and the boys to get ready for their baths. It was just getting dark out by the time Harry and Draco had their teeth brushed and their pj's on and were ready to hear their bedtime story. Harry was again snuggled up to Moony's side and Draco was right next to him. Sirius decided to tell a story instead of read one and even Remus was sucked into his tale of how Merlin first appeared in the Wizarding world.

An hour later the boys were fighting to keep their eyes open so Sirius left the story at to be continued and carried them to bed. After tucking them in he went back to Moony's room and collapsed into a chair, propping his feet up on the bed. The two of them spent the next few hours catching up until Remus fell asleep and Sirius transformed and trotted off to the boy's room.

The next day was Harry's birthday and what a day it was. Harry and Draco woke up as the sun was creeping over the horizon and Sirius made them Harry's birthday breakfast of pancakes, bacon, eggs and orange juice. While the boys washed up and got dressed Sirius got Remus set up in the kitchen with a comfortable chair and a breakfast of oatmeal and milk. On the boy's way back Dumbledore arrived through the fireplace.

"Happy birthday Harry. How does it feel to be a whole year older?"

"Really great! Now me'an Draco are the same age."

"That is great, and good morning to you too Draco. How do you like things here so far?"

"They're great!"

'That's good to know.'

"Albus! Just in time, we are about to make Harry's birthday cake."

"Really, and what spell are you using to make it?" Sirius's answer made him worry, and with good reason. The Marauder was wearing a smirk that rivaled any of Dumbledore's twinkles.

"No spell Albus, we are doing this the muggle way." And he led the excited four year olds into the kitchen.

The rest of the morning was full of laughter and flour as Sirius, Albus, Draco, and Harry tried to make a cake. Remus was excluded from the effort, but not the flour.

In the end, semi questionable cake batter was placed in the oven and Harry's hair was as white as Dumbledore's. Instead of making the boys take a bath Albus used scourgify and the five "boys" went to the living room, for it was the time that everyone was waiting for.

The first present Harry opened was from Draco, and Sirius had to stop him from trying the balloons out right then. Sirius had also let Draco give Harry the broom and promised to show him how to ride it after they had cake.

From Sirius he received the dress robes and some chocolate frogs and a joke book that Albus had brought. Remus had also asked Dumbledore to bring Harry's presents and he gave Harry a chess set and the book by Beedle the Bard, which he promised to read out of before bedtime.

Albus gave Harry a Quaffle and Bertie Bott's every flavor beans. Harry was also surprised that Gidget and Wink sent him presents, his favorite book and his favorite clothes.

Draco was surprised when Sirius gave him two packages, the other broom that they had bought at Diagon Alley and a set of dress robes. Even though Draco had been there when Sirius purchased the gifts, it was the first time that he could ever remember unwrapping presents, and it was fun.

By the time Harry was done opening presents the timer went off on the cake and Sirius went to take it out. Remus showed Harry how to set up the chess set and the two of them played while Albus read aloud a few of the stories from Beedle the Bard.

When Sirius called them into the kitchen twenty minutes later they all laughed at the cake. Sirius had tried his best but, well. No matter what it looked like they all agreed that it tasted great. When they were done Albus offered to clean up the kitchen and Sirius took the boys outside with their brooms.

In no time they were zooming around the yard, Harry with a little more confidence than Draco, but encouraging his brother along. Seeing as they looked like they were having so much fun, Sirius accioed his own broom and joined them. Shortly after Albus and Remus appeared on the porch to watch them.

By four o'clock the boys were getting tired and Albus said he needed to get back to the school. Remus went to his bed to rest before supper and Sirius went to help the boys take their baths. Seeing as they had had so much sugar Sirius decided on meat sandwiches and they again ate on Remus's bed.

When they were done eating Harry and Draco brushed their teeth and Sirius put the dishes away. Remus read them another Beedle the Bard story like he promised and Sirius put them to bed. They fell asleep when their head's hit the pillows. Remus was also worn out so he went to sleep but Sirius flopped down on the couch to read.

Over the next three days nothing really remarkable happened. A pattern was established between the two boys and their mentors. Draco finally asked what a brother was and it was explained to him, after that he spent the entire day addressing Harry only as "Brother". It wasn't until the morning of August 5th that the Potters did something that neither Albus nor Sirius had accounted for.

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Lily and James Potter left the Daily Profit office and quickly Disapparated. Upon arriving home Lily stayed in the entry way while James hurried to his office.

Gigit was about to approach her white faced mistress when James reappeared and the two of them left the house.

Appearing in Diagon Alley they quickly made their way up the steps of Gringotts. James walked up to the desk and in a low voice told the goblin that he wished to speak to someone about a personal matter.

The goblin motioned for another to take his place and led the two humans to the private rooms. With the door secured he turned to his clients.

"What can Gringotts do for you today?"

Lily looked away but James plunged to the heart of the matter.

"We want to disown our son."

If the goblin was surprised he didn't show it.

"Very well. Wait here and I will get the required paperwork."

Seemingly thrown off by the lack of response from the goblin James started to explain himself.

"It's not that we don't love him, it's just that whoever took him wants his inheritance. We just don't want them to have a reason to keep him, so they will give him back. We're not bad peo-"

"If you are quite done sniveling, it is none of my business how you chose to endanger your son. Now if you will excuse me I will go and get the paperwork." When he left Lily turned to her husband.

"We are doing the right thing aren't we? I mean, this will all turn out all right for Harry won't it?"

"Of course Lily. Whoever took Harry hasn't made any demands. Therefore they must want to keep him, not get money for him. They haven't told us because they must think that we would say no.

By disowning him they will be free to adopt him, we will have more time to spend with the twins. After all, someday they are going to have to fight Voldemort again and we could lose them.

Also, this way Harry will have all the attention of whoever adopts him. So everyone wins in this situation, ok? Everything is going to be fine." Even as he said this there was a small itch in the back of his head. He was missing something important about this entire situation. But Lily was looking to him for guidance. He was the pureblood with the answers to this situation. Lily's green eyes were filled with unleashed tears as she looked at him and he knew that she believed in his little fantasy as much as he did. But they had to believe it because really what other option was there? That Harry had been taken and killed for no reason? No, his son was alive and he would dismiss any other ideas to the contrary. He and Lily would do this and either Harry would end up with another family or he would be returned to them. There was no other option.

"I'm just worried. When we cut the ties, James! What if he is alone?"

"Darling, he's three; he will be close to someone." At that time the goblin had returned, cutting off anything else Lily might have said.

An hour later all the paperwork had been signed. Grinning the goblin asked them, "so, will you be burning the name off yourselves, or would you like us to do it remotely?" It was Lily who made the decision.

"We'll have you do it."

"Very well, both of you sign here, in your blood."

With the final deed done the Potters left the bank as hurriedly as they had the Profit, and Lily managed to make it all the way to the bedroom before she broke down at the pain she felt had carved out half her chest.

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Deep in the Potter mansion a large cloth sprang to life. It slowly unrolled exposing perfect stitching depicting the names, birth, and death dates of each member of the Potter line.

At the bottom were three names, one stitched in gold signifying that he was the next heir. At the exact moment that Lily and James signed the last paper a blue flame sprang to life on the very tip of the letter H and slowly burned through all the letters on the boy's name.

When the flame had burned through the dash after the boy's birth date (which had stated just seconds ago that this particular child had been born at exactly 11:59 pm July 31, 1979) miles away he fell down screaming. For even adults are not immune to the pain of being torn from ones family.

That should have been the end. The blackened letters never allowed to produce a golden thread and the next child in line having their name re-sown in gold. But it wasn't, and the whole tapestry pulsed as though it contained a heart.

A single line of crimson shot out of a name much further up the cloth. It started slowly at first, picking its way down the line of descendants, turning the gold line to red, but never changing the color of the names. It seemed to find its way and began moving faster and faster until it came to rest above the blackened piece of fabric.

The tapestry pulsed faster and faster as though trying to unclog a line, until the crimson started to ooze into a shapeless mass over the blackened fabric.

Three floors above little Anigo Potter slept on, not knowing that the ancient magic had refused to name him heir.

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Harry was in pain. One second he was talking to Draco and the next it felt like his heart had been ripped out. Draco heard him scream, saw him fall and begin to shake violently. But all Harry was aware of was that he felt pain, cold, and lonelier than ever before in his short life.

Draco stared in horror as Harry shook on the floor. Then his brain seemed to kick in and he ran down the hallway screaming for Sirius. They met half way and Sirius rushed into the bedroom.

Without pausing he scooped up Harry in one arm and Draco in the other. He ran into the living room and setting Draco down, reached into the small box on the mantle and threw some Floo powder into the fire.

Picking up the blonde haired boy he told him to hold on tight and then stepped into the fire, clearly calling out Headmasters office.

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Albus was enjoying his breakfast of pickled toast and fruit omelets when he felt the ward go off for the fireplace in his office. There were only two people who could use that fireplace without him unlocking it first and both of those people would only use it in an emergency.

Excusing himself from the table he quickly made his way to his office.

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Severus picked up a forkful of eggs and eyed it with contempt. The food wasn't bad, though he had no reason to ever admit that, it was the circumstances that caused him pain. It was the annual midsummer meeting for the teachers and only midway through the second morning the greatest topic of conversation was how once again the Potters had "shocked" the Wizarding world.

McGonagall turned to him and he mentally braced himself.

"Have you read the Profit today?"

"I have much better literature to immerse myself in than the meaningless ramblings of an educationally stunted glory hound."

"Well, I would have thought you would have at least noticed that the poor Potter boy has been declared dead."

Snape snorted.

"One less Potter in the world is something to rejoice over. The brat was probably doing something stupid and deserved it."

McGonagall raised an eyebrow and turned back to her toast.

"No child deserves to die Severus." Snape just glared at his eggs. For some reason they looked even less appetizing than before.

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Upon entering the office Dumbledore paused. Sirius looked absolutely stricken as he tried to contain Harry's spasms while Draco looked on, wide eyed and trembling.

"I don't know what happened. They were playing and I was looking in on Remus, then I heard Harry scream and Draco calling for me and I found him like this!"

"Sirius! You need to calm down or you won't be any help to Harry. Draco, could you please tell me what happened?"

"We were playing with the army and he sounded like he was hurt real bad. Then he fell and started moving like he's now. And I didn't know what to do!" At the end of his explanation the little boy was shaking harder and starting to cry so Sirius gently handed Harry over to Albus and pulled Draco into a hug.

"It's ok Draco, you didn't do anything wrong. In fact it was very good that you went to get me, Ok?"

"'K." Draco sniffed and Dumbledore moved towards the door.

"We are going to have to bring Poppy in on this. I know that I will be able to count on her discretion." The four of them arrived in the infirmary at the same time as the nurse.

"Headmaster, there you are! You left so suddenly from the table that- Oh dear, what it this." Quickly and with as few words as possible Albus explained the highlights of what was going on.

"And we have no idea what has caused him to collapse like this."

"Let me see." Madam Pomfrey ran a practiced eye and wand over the prone boy. When she was done her small form was tense and her lips pinched. She walked away from them and retrieved one of the vials from her cabinet.

"Help me with his head Sirius." When the potion had been swallowed Harry's violent spasms had stopped but his eyes still looked empty and he didn't respond to Sirius's hand on his head or Draco's hand in his. Dumbledore's eyes weren't twinkling.

"What's wrong with him Poppy?"

"He's been disowned headmaster. Under normal circumstanced the child would be aware of what was going on and have the new parents adopt him immediately after the disownment was finalized.

The shock of having his family ripped from him has caused his soul to almost separate from his body. If he isn't adopted soon it could separate completely. The result would be similar to a Dementor's kiss."

Draco didn't know what a Dementor's kiss was but Sirius's reaction made him hold onto Harry's hand tighter.

For a second Albus thought that Sirius might actually explode. When the younger man took off for the doors he quickly locked them. Sirius rounded on the Headmaster.

"Will you adopt Harry?"

"Let me out Albus! I swear I'm going to KI-"

"SIRIUS! _Will you adopt Harry_?"

Thrown off balance he stuttered, "Of course."

"Then take Harry and Draco to my office, Floo to Gringotts and tell them I am coming with an adoption potion and need a room. Start signing the adoption papers. I should be five minutes behind you."

Sirius grabbed the boys and did what he was told.

Dumbledore caught up to Snape as he headed for the dungeons.

"Severus, I need you to make me an adoption potion."

Snape let out a small sigh as he turned around, "Headmaster, I really-" The lack of twinkling in the blue eyes made him stop.

"Now. Take it to Gringotts when you are done."

With a swish of purple robes he was gone. Severus hurried towards his own office trying to put together who could have caused the Headmaster to be this upset. He didn't like the answer that kept coming up.

Aegelweard – Noble protector, English

Vilhjalmur – Resolute protector, Scandinavian

Aaqil (ah KEEL) – wise, Arabic

Fahim (fah HEEM) – intelligent, scholar, Arabic


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter and everything to do with him and the books. All I'm doing is having some fun with the "what ifs".

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

"_Language of the Phoenix"_

_**E**_Language of the Elves_**E**_

Chapter 8

'Sirius.. Sirius…. Sirius.. Sirius…' The name ran around and around his head as James stumbled to his study. Finally collapsing into the chair he stared blankly at his hand, the one that had signed away the life of his son. They had been through the front door when it hit. The wave of pain that started in his head and howled through his body, tearing is heart to shreds when it was found. A terrible noise that whispered in his ears and sucked the moisture from his mouth, and the picture that was hammered into his skull was Sirius making Harry a sandwich. Absent mindedly wiping this forehead and temporarily trying to ignore the pain in his body James focused on the night of the party. Sirius hadn't been there at all, Remus had left shortly after, shortly after he had yelled at Harry and Dumbledore had stayed till the end, and given him and odd look as he left. But what did that TELL him? That he knew who had kidnapped his son? No, that was stupid. No matter what he had told Lily kidnappers wanted money. Sirius didn't need it, Remus didn't want it, they were his best friends, they knew they could ask for it. And Albus, come on! He was the headmaster of a school! But that look was so familiar. As he tried to place it another memory floated to the surface.

"They hate me James! I knew we weren't on the best of terms, but James! My father said I was dead to him."

'The Book.'

James was out of the chair and up the stairs as fast as he could stumble to the library. Climbing up the old ladder he began frantically picking up books and discarding them just as quickly until his hand rested on a small worn tome, crimson letters outlined in gold. Stumbling down the ladder and falling into a chair James' hands shook as he slowly opened the book.

Rules and Consequences of Prueblood Disownment

He stared at the first page for what felt like hours. The last time he had read this was with Sirius. To think that he could have forgotten even one word. Forcing himself to continue James began to read.

The Disownment of a Pureblooded child is not a decision to be taken lightly…

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Severus Snape did not _rush_ anywhere. Which is why his pace would be classified as a fast, but dignified, walk to a pressing destination. Who the hell was he kidding. With a quick look over his shoulder to assure himself he was alone in the hallway Snape sprinted the 200 meters down the polished Gringotts halls. Taking all of two seconds to compose himself he opened door 76D and walked in, black robes billowing behind him. If anyone had been looking at him, the only indication they would have had that the scene before him was distressing was the slight tensing of his jaw. But no one noticed, because no one was watching. The little boy with blond hair that looked strangely familiar had his back pressed against the wall, arms around his small frame and was staring at the table in the middle of the room. Sirius was sitting as still as he had ever seen the mutt holding the hand of, sweet Merlin, was that Harry Potter? Dumbledore, when was the last time he had seen Albus pace? The goblin was the first to notice him.

"You have the potion."

"Yes."

He turned to ask Albus if he could leave but the older man had already taken the potion from him and was moving towards the table. Snape decided to lean against the wall to wait, and study Sirius Black. When the goblin had asked for the potion Black had spun around. And the look in his eyes. For a second Severus had believed that Black might actually care about someone other than himself. He viciously shoved that thought aside. Black was a monster, a childish monster, just like Potter, and one of the reasons why the child laying on the table did not belong to him. It also begged the question, what the hell had Potter done to his son? As soon as he got out of here he had to talk to Lily. Maybe now she would see what a worthless excuse for a human her husband was, mayb-. A child's scream interrupted his thoughts and Black pulled the boy off the table and into his lap.

"It's OK Harry, I'm right here, I've got you. I've got you, everything's going to be ok…" If Dumbledore had wanted to say something to him Snape didn't know, he was already half way down the hall and on his way to the closest apperation point. 'I have to talk to Lily.'

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Harry drifted through nothingness. How long had he been there? Hours, weeks, years? It felt like forever. There was a pulse and he began to frantically search for its source. But the complete blackness engulfed him, blanketed all his senses and he lost track of the sensation. It again felt like forever before the next pulse came. A little of the blanket lifted and it didn't feel like so long before the next pulse came, and then the one after that. Slowly he followed them trying to get to the source. The first sensation Harry was aware of as he clawed his way out of the never ending ink was pain. It hurt so much that he wanted to dive back into the nothingness but whatever had been guiding him began pulling. As it picked up momentum he began moving faster and faster towards the surface of consciousness. As soon as he broke through he felt air rush into his lungs and the pain disappeared. He felt strong arms around him, holding him, comforting him, and soothing words being murmured into his ear. Blinking away the last remnants of darkness Harry recognized Sirius and latched onto him, burying his face in the man's shirt. Harry felt something hit him from behind and turned around to return Draco's hug. Sirius discreetly brushed the tears out of his eyes.

"Jeez Harry, you had us scared for a minute there."

"What happened?"

"Well Harry, your parents, they, well they…" 'It would be so easy, so easy to make him hate them.' "Harry, they made it possible for me to adopt you. This way, no one can ever take you away from me." The Look of deep thought and concentration was incredibly comical on the four year old.

"What do I call you?"

"Well, you can call me Sirius or Padfoot or –"

"Can I call you Daddy?"

"Yeah, yeah you can call me Daddy."

"Good."

Harry sat wrapped in Sirius' arm as he finished signing the adoption papers. Draco stood next to them one hand gripping the man's shirt but looking far less pale. It was strange, Harry thought, the felling inside him. He had few words to describe the swirling energy he felt throughout his body but he decided not to comment on it out loud. It didn't hurt and he didn't want anyone to get upset. When the papers were signed Dumbledore walked up to Sirius and shook his hand. Congratulations of the adoption of you son. I believe the best thing for all of you to do is go home and rest. Take the Gringott's floo back to my office. Harry tried to fight off sleep but was out before they made it down the hall.

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Snagtop waited till the group was down the hall before running to Agamemnon's office. When he was admitted he carefully spread out the adoption papers in front of the bank manager.

"I thought it was a myth. A story told to children."

"Perhaps it still is. I will take care of this."

As Snagtop left Agamemnon began to study the papers. It appeared that in an effort to advance magic over the past 1,000 years much knowledge had been lost to the wizards. Gringotts only handled one or two disownment every year and now days sometimes not that many. When he had heard about the Potters he had been quite surprised. Even more so when he had found out about how carelessly they handled the situation. Honestly he commended the young boy for being able to hold on long enough to be adopted. He carefully stroked his desk and called up the Potters disownment papers and placed them next to Blacks adoption papers. He studied them both carefully, a deep frown on his face. When a wizard was disowned the blood ties were broken and in honor of that the family's magic would yield to the decision and withdraw. The wizard would be left with only the magical traits that were not part of the family; such as any lycanthropy or vampirism that had been acquired after birth. They would then acquire the magic of the family they had been adopted into. As far as Agamemnon knew there had been three wizards in which the family's magic had denied the wishes of the family, only allowing the child to disowned in blood. This Potter child's future should prove interesting. To have the blood of a Black and the magic of a Potter. Not many would be able to contain two such opposing forces.

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Neville sat of the rug by the fire playing with his wooden unicorns. His grandmother sat nearby in her rocking chair, hands knitting stiches they had memorized long ago with ease. As she watched her son's son Augusta was both in pain and resigned. Neville had been such a curious child, so like his father. In his parent's arms he had observed the world with such bright eyes that the things he showed her looked new again.

But then Voldemort had sent those vile slaves of his and they had, her hands faltered and she dropped a stich. Shaking herself of the pain pressing on her chest Augusta fixed her knitting and looked back at her grandchild. He was chubby with rosy cheeks; he was awkward and clumsier than Frank had ever been. He cried a lot and the smallest things seemed to frighten him. All of those things she could have dealt with. Would have dealt with. But when she looked in his eyes they no longer sparkled.

He no longer had any interest in things outside the little world he had created around himself. When the relatives would visit they would tease him about playing with unicorns. Put toy dragons in his hands and say "This is what boys play with!" Neville would just look at them with his flat brown eyes, drop the toys on the floor and go back to the unicorns. Augusta was old. Right now she could take care of Neville, he didn't demand much. And that's what bothered her; she _could_ take care of him.

He needed more than that. He needed to live again, to explore, to smile, to laugh, to run around fighting an imaginary foe, yelling at the top of his lungs. And what then. She knew herself well enough to know that then he would drive her up the wall, that she would have him sit down and play quietly. That she would not encourage him to have friends over and she would not want to be constantly shipping him off to other's houses. And then they would be right where they were now. With a little boy that was not a little boy but a frightened child beyond his years, in a small body that could not yet watch out for itself. As much as it pained her she contemplated Dumbledore's proposition.

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'It will be very hard,' Dumbledore decided, 'to stop two powerful wizards from doing exactly what _you_ would like to do. Even if one of them is currently on bed rest.'

He had arrived at the house after Sirius and just in time to prevent Remus from chasing him down the hall. As he settled the highly agitated werewolf back onto the sofa Dumbledore wondered when the situation had gotten away from him. 'Or maybe I was never in control.' Refusing to dwell on that thought Albus sat down and waited for Sirius to return.

"Albus, what happened. I heard a scream and Sirius took off, that was over an hour ago."

"Patience Remus, when Sirius gets back we will tell you everything." The glare he received was a good reminder that Remus could indeed be terrifying when he chose.

Lucky for Albus they didn't have to wait long and Sirius returned without the two boys. He held up a hand and sunk into a chair. "Harry is asleep and Draco is staying with him. I don't think you could separate the two of them with a crowbar right now."

"Sirius." At the pleading in his friends voice Sirius sat up and explained the situation.

"- and then we flooed back here. Somewhere along the way Harry fell asleep and I think Draco isn't entirely convinced that he's going to be ok."

If Albus had though the werewolf's glare was bad the look he wore now was positively lethal. He was about to say something but stopped short in fascination. A quick look at Sirius showed that the man was too distracted to notice so Albus watched the changes in Remus alone and in awe. There had been a cut on the back of werewolf's neck that had just missed severing his spinal cord and one that Poppy had been especially worried about getting infected. But as he watched the wound slowly knit itself back together until it left only a faint scar.

It was the only wound that he had a view of and Albus decided not to share his observations for the moment. Bringing himself back to the problem at hand he wondered if he was going to have to physically restrain Remus. I seemed that he had reached that point in anger where words were failing him and it took a while for him to full articulate. "Why? How… James? James!" Sirius quickly shushed his friend. "Harry's still sleeping Remus."

"But Sirius, James, he. Sirius, he." Words failed him again and Sirius moved over to place a hand on his friend's knee.

"I know Moony. I want to kill him too."

"Didn't he know this would happen? Remember when you were sixteen and your parents were seriously considering disowning you?"

"Yeah, we actually found that book in his parent's library. I find it hard to believe that he could have forgotten so much in only 7 years."

"And what about Lily, how much do you think she knew?"

"I have a hard time thinking that she would have done that to her child, but let's face it Remus. These are not the people we knew. Somehow they have become very twisted versions of our friends."

"Twisted versions? Sirius! They've become completely different people! That night of the party I couldn't believe what I saw and to be honest I don't think it registered until much later. But to so callously treat their son with that kind of indifference and then to put him in that much danger. You remember the day Harry was born. They were so happy, he was their entire world. I just- I just really can't believe these are the same people we spent all those years laughing and crying and fighting alongside. And yet what they have done is unforgivable and I don't think I'll ever- I don't know- Do you think you will ever be able to forgive them for this?"

Dumbledore felt his heart get just a little heavier. James and Lily were nothing close to Voldemort but the amount of pain they had caused, and in such a short amount of time, the full implications were really beginning to wear on him.

Sirius sighed as he addressed his friend, "I don't know Moony. I've been back and forth a hundred times already. He is, was, my closest friend and I don't know how I would have made it through some of those years without him. You were our voice of reason and he was our commander and chief and my brother in everything but blood; those were the greatest years of my life but things change. And people change and the man he's become is not the one we knew.

So I guess the real question is are we going to spent a lot of time trying to figure out what to do about James and Lily or are we going to spent that time thinking about his- my son and Draco?" He had a moment of panic as that thought sunk in for the first time and then a small smile crept onto his face. He, Sirius Orion Black, was a father. Who would have thought?

Remus sank a little into the sofa. "You're right. The boys are what matter. We'll have plenty of time to figure out how to deal with the Potters later."

Dumbledore relaxed a little. Well it seemed that for now at least neither of the boys was about to do anything rash. He was about to comment when two small heads poked around the corner from the hallway.

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When Harry woke he was in his bed and it was still light out. He tried to move but found he was pinned down. Shifting a little he smiled when he saw Draco wrapped around him with death grip. Shaking the other boy he whispered, "Draco, come on Draco. Wake up!"

"Wha-? What?"

"Hello." He smiled.

"Harry!" Draco's face split into a smile.

"Are you better now? I was scared, I thought something real bad happened."

"Yep. All better." The sound of raised voices reached the boys from down the hall.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know. When we got back from that other place Remy was in the on the sofa and looked really bad. He stared asking lots of questions but Sirus just took us in here. You were asleep so he tucked you in and I said I wanted to stay with you so he said I could then he went out and they've been talking out there forever. I got tired and fell asleep till now. I'm really glad you're better Harry. "

"Me to. I'm hungry. Let's go get something to eat." Grinning like fools they slid off the bed. Harry stopped before the door and turned to look at his brother. He could feel the relief coming off him in waves.

"Was it really that scary?" The older boy nodded solemnly.

"I'm real sorry Draco. I didn't mean it."

"It's ok. It's all better now."

"Ok." As they snuck down the hall, Draco at his back, Harry could feel the energy that had been in him dissipating. The violent swirling was going away and warmth was starting to fill his chest and spread towards his limbs. He decided he liked the feeling and the thought made him smile. He poked his head around the corner and looked at his guardians. Draco was right, Remy looked real bad, a lot like when he had first got there and his daddy's face didn't have the kindness he was used to seeing. Even Dumblydore's eyes didn't have the twinkling in them.

Dumblydore was the first to see them standing in the doorway and gave them a smile.

"Well this has been quite the discussion but perhaps we should put it on hold for now. Harry, Draco, is there something you need?"

"We were just hungry." Harry slid around the corner and into the living room, Draco behind him. His daddy smiled at them and came over to pick him up. Harry relaxed into the embrace. Whatever was going on must be grownup stuff so he decided to forget about it. After all he had much more important things to worry about. All his toys weren't going to play with themselves. Daddy took Draco's hand and they went into the kitchen.

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Albus had finally worked up an acceptable speech when the doorbell rang. Realizing who it must be a small part of him laughed. Talk about inconvenient timing. Or maybe not. Ignoring both Sirius and Remus he went to answer the door. As soon as it opened his "compassionate headmaster" face slip into place. Augusta was looking straight at him with her jaw set. Standing limply by her side was a small boy with tousled hair.

"Augusta, Neville, please do come in."

"Just for a moment headmaster. There are somethings- I must-. This is not good-bye."

'What the poor boy must think of us.' Sirius and Remus were both making an effort to look inviting while Harry and Draco wore looks of intense curiosity. Neville looked barely interested as he fiddled with the toy in his hand.

"Neville, I'd like to introduce you to some people. This is Sirius and his friend Remus. They are going to be looking after you for a while."

"Ok."

"And this is Harry and Draco, they are going to be living with you as well."

"Ok."

Augusta knelt down by her grandson and pulled him into a hug.

"I know this doesn't seem like a good thing now, but I promise you, I believe you will be happy here."

"Ok."

"Well, alright then. I will see you soon."  
Albus began to speak but Augusta stopped him and handed over the bag she had brought.

"Longbottoms don't do long good-byes."

The part of the old grandmother that wasn't overwhelmed with sadness was a little proud. She had made it half way home before the tears came.

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Neville was a little lost. His grandmother had told him why he was going away but he still didn't understand. He looked at the new people. They would all be like his uncle. They probably wouldn't let him play with his unicorns either. He had already made up his mind and griped the toy a little tighter. He wouldn't just let them take his friends away. Even if it meant he had to hide with them. Even if he had to hide so well he faded away. He was startled out of his thoughts when the dark haired boy approached him, the blond one close behind.

"Hi. I'm Harry."

"And I'm Draco."

"What do you have?" Neville hesitated for a moment, then, slowly uncurled his hand. Might as well get it over with now. He waited silently for them to laugh or get angry. What happened next was the last thing he expected.

"Draco he has a unicorn! A cool one! It can help the griffins with their attack on the giants."

"Or the centaurs, they never have enough help." Neville stared wide-eyed. Didn't they only play with dragons? Instantly he pulled the unicorn to his chest. They must be like his cousins then. They would take his toy as theirs and destroy it. They wouldn't let him play either. 'See,' he thought as they started to walk away, talking excitedly. Then the dark haired one stopped and looked back at him, "well, aren't you coming?" Not sure what to do he stood frozen. Harry rolled his eyes at Draco who grinned. Then the boys came back and grabbed his arms. Smiling they pulled him out of the room and down the hall.

"Come on, the army needs your unicorn!"

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Sirius forced himself to focus on the present.

"Albus, perhaps we should talk to Neville before throwing him to the wolves?"

"Actually, I think this may be what he needs. Augusta said he had some trouble connecting to kids his own age."

"Well Harry seems to connect with everyone so we probably won't have a problem."

"You seem to be quite right about that. Well it appears that Harry is doing just fine and I'm sure I don't have to tell you this but you know Poppy will have my head if I don't. Keep an eye on him and if there is any trouble don't hesitate to bring him to the school."

"Don't worry Albus, we'll both be keeping an eye out."

"Very good. Well, I need to be going, it appears that I've missed my morning meeting. I will be in touch soon." He grabbed some powder and was gone.

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As it turned out Neville flourished in his new life, but that first night could have gone either way. When the boy's got to their room they let go of Neville's arms and immediately ran to the shelves. They pulled off armfuls of toys and dumped them in the center of the rug chatting excitedly about battle strategies. Neville took his time surveying the room as he walked towards the rug. It was very colorful and full of fun things, he felt slightly overwhelmed as he sank in to the soft rug.

Sitting at the edge of the action he observed closely as the other boys set up their army of figures. It seemed to be something that they had done quite regularly. The troops were divided quickly. The wizards were in one section with the goblins and the dragons. The Centaurs were in another with the merpeople and griffins, ready to back up the wizards. The giants, werewolves, vampires, and a few "evil" creatures from the other side were in a third group. Neville had decided the other boys had forgotten he was there when Harry turned to him,

"All right Neeville, who will the unicorn help?" Neville sighed and said quietly, "my name is Neville."

"Right," Harry scrunched up his face, "well, can we call you Nev? Cuz that would be loads easier."

Neville contemplated for a minute and then gave a small smile. "Yeah, guess its ok." Harry's face split into a grin.

"Great! So Nev, where is the unicorn going to go?"

Neville studied the troops for a while. "Well, really they would help the phoenixes, but you don't have any of them."

"Phoenixes, really?" Draco asked. "How do you know that?"

Neville sputtered a bit, "I just, I just do!" Now both the boys were looking at him confused and Neville wanted to cry. He didn't know how he knew, he just did. Unicorns helped phoenixes.

Harry crawled over to him and sat back on his feet. "We're sorry Nev. We didn't mean to make you sad. We were just wondering that's all. Right Draco?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry Nev. I just never thought of the phoenixes that's all. I didn't mean anything by it. I'm real sorry." Neville calmed down and looked at them. It was a completely new experience for him. All of it, and he was having trouble figuring out how to react. But as he looked from Draco to Harry and back he began to feel the same thing that Draco had felt his first night with this strange family. Slowly he straightened up and unclenched his fist. Wiping his eyes he held up his favorite toy.

"This is Orin and she is the wisest of all the unicorns. If there are no phoenixes to help then she would help the centaurs." Draco and Harry smiled at him.

"Perfect, then you can put her over there, now we have to figure out how they are going to fight off the GIANT'S ROCK ATTACK!" Harry ran to grab some blocks and began to stockpile them next to the giants.

Draco started to put the wizards into formation, "quick Nev, what are we going to do to stop them." Neville frowned while he thought and then smiled.

"Right, Orin will get the unicorns together and they will give a secret spell to the centaurs who will tell it to the wizards so they can put up a really strong shield."

"Great!" Neville had Orin whisper into the centaur's ear and the centaur whispered to the wizard Draco grabbed some books that they could make a shield with.

They played for hours and Neville had never had so much fun in his life. They moved the figures over the rug, making explosions and battle cries for the soldiers as they charged and won and died. They all played each of the parts switching sides as easily as when one had a great idea he wanted to try with a certain group. And after a while Neville relaxed when Harry and Draco grabbed Orin after it was clear that they weren't going to damage her in any way. They were so absorbed in their little world that they didn't notice the several times that Sirius and Remus came to check on them. It was only when the smell of spaghetti and garlic bread drifted into the room and three stomachs simultaneously informed them how hungry they were.

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Lily was wreaked. The strange numbness that had engulfed her after signing the disownment papers had evaporated when she and James had returned home. She had barely made it to the bathroom before heaving the small breakfast she had eaten into the toilet and collapsing to the floor. She didn't know how long she lay there, holding herself and shaking, until Wink and crept up next to her and knelt on the cold floor.

"Come now Mistress. Let Wink be putting you to bed now." The house elf carefully pulled her into a sitting position and ran a warm flannel over her face. Then with a strength Lily wouldn't have thought she possessed Wink carefully maneuvered her into a standing position and led her to the bed. The covers had been pulled back and Lily sank into their embrace.

"We did the right thing." Her voice was barely a whisper but she held on to the elf's arm with all her might. Frantic green eyes met steady yellow and what they saw there did little to reassure.

"Master and Mistress will be doing what they think is right." Wink careful disengaged her Mistress's hand and tucked her in. "What they be thinking is right." She checked that there was a glass of water on the nightstand and left the room without a sound, snuffing the lights as she left.

Lily lay in the dark reciting her mantra over and over until her brain finally shut down from stress and exhaustion and she fell into a fitful sleep.

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Snape had meant to go straight to the Potter's mansion and confront Lily. He would tell her everything he had seen. Somehow Potter and Black must have come up with some scheme that involved faking the Potter child's death, for what nefarious purposes he had no idea but anything involving those two could never be good. Some sort of prank no doubt. Yes that was it. Lily would finally see who she had married and see that he, Severus Snape, was superior in every way. He almost did it too. Was seconds from the aperation point when every facet of his being that had made him into a great double agent took command of his feet and deposited him a corner table at the Leaky Cauldron.

He reviewed the facts slowly, mulling each one over in his mind like a potential potion ingredient. He looked at each bit of information separately and then as a whole, trying to see how it all fit together. That morning there had been the bit in the Profit about the child being dead. Lily and Potter had both given the interview so she had been with him on that part. Then there was the part at Gringotts. The boy had been disowned. That much was obvious.

While he wasn't particularly well versed on the specifics he was rather sure, and this was that part that he was resisting so hard to acknowledge, he couldn't see how the act could be done without the knowledge and consent of both parents. And here his reasoning was stalled for he could not except that Lily would disown her own son but he could no more not see the evidence then cut off his own hand.

There was also one other troubling piece to the puzzle that he could not seem to ignore; the look on Black's face. He had seen that face in many different aspects from sneering to laughing, sly to fierce and everything in between. He had seen it from his tortured childhood onto the battle field and prided himself on knowing exactly the level of empathy that Black possessed. But the Black in that room was something he had not encountered before and he was currently at a loss of how to deal with that information. Not even in the aftermath of a losing battle, and there had been plenty of those, had Black ever look quite so, lost.

As he sat there in the drank pub, nursing a firewhiskey and glaring at the world, the core of everything he had held true and right began to slip and he felt as though his world had been knocked off kilter. Snape was not one for introspection but the thought of leaving things this unbalanced was not an option. By the time he finished his second whiskey his world was righted once more and his facts were in their proper place, with as little emphasis on the small changes as posible Snape stood and again made towards the aperation point. Potter would always be Potter and Black Black and while Lily may not be perfect she was Lily and he would not believe her capable of atrocities until he spoke to her.

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When Dumbledore returned to his office he was only slightly surprised to see Zamaakus waiting for him next to Fawkes' perch. "High Elf Zamaakus I was unaware we had a meeting today."

"We do not Headmaster, I came to inquire about the boy. Is he well?"

Dumbledore was confused as to how the elf would have any information about Harry and said so.

Zamaakus let the barest of smiles touch his lips before he spoke, "In all this time I would have thought you had realized that all elves are Elves." At the others continued confusion he added, "and the Potters employ several."

Finally realizing that the Potter's house elves had a connection to the High Council the headmaster's eyebrows rose.

"What did the Potter's house elves have to say?"

"Only that their masters had done the unthinkable and they were worried for his safety." If Dumbledore had any doubts about the entirety of that message he kept them to himself.

"I can tell you that Harry is safe and the issue has been dealt with for now."

Zamaakus artfully arched one eyebrow, "for now?"

"The world does not run entirely by my design."

The elf chuckled, "of course not, and may you be glad that it does not." With a nod good-bye he shifted out of the office. Dumbledore turned a questioning eye to his feathered companion but the bird merely turned away and began preening himself.

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The door was slammed violently behind him as Severus stormed into his private quarters. Taking a large pull from his bottle of firewhiskey he snarled at the burn. Grabbing a glass off the shelf he marched over to the fireplace and sank into the only furniture the room offered, a large chair. Pouring himself a shot he threw it back, quickly chasing it down with another.

"Lily." He spat the name out and found the alcohol did nothing to kill the taste. He though he had been ready to face whatever happened at the Potter house, thought he knew what he was walking into but he had been blind; blind and stupid and he felt his foolishness burning his ears even as the whiskey burned his throat.

When he had arrived at the house one of the elves had seen him in, stating the both the master and mistress were indisposed. He had decided to wait and had been shown to the drawing room. There he had waited for one hour, then two. Going on the third hour he had almost decided to leave when a very pale Lily had walked into the room. He had immediately rushed to her aid, calling for the house elf to bring tea and guiding his host to the sofa. After thanking him she asked for the purpose of his visit.

Severus has started slowly revealing very few of the who's but letting her know he had a fair idea of what was going on. She had broken then, sobbing into his shoulder and pleading for him to understand that they were doing what was right, it was best for Harry, best for them and the twins, best for everyone. Severus had been patient; he had listened to her claims and sided with her. He had laid out his own arguments, how James was in the wrong and she could leave with him and everything would be ok. She had looked at him confused, "but why?" But why? But why! Because their whole plan was clearly mad and she looked close to death that's why! But he had to be careful so he said none of these things.

Taking her hand in his he spoke with all the sincerity he possessed; he cared for her and, considering her condition, he felt it would be best if she came with him for a time to recuperate. She had taken him by surprise then as something so completely unLily had crossed her features and her next words sent him reeling.

"Your benevolent act had been in vain Severus Snape. I have a wonderful husband and perfect children. I will not be leaving them to go gallivanting off into the dark underworld with you." Her eyes had narrowed at the end of her speech and she pulled her hand away from him. Severus had sat frozen until Potter had come barreling into the room looking no better than his wife. Potter had shouted, spittle flying, that Snape was to leave his house immediately and never return on pain of the life debt still owed.

Severus had never been so livid in his entire life as he pulled the shreds of his dignity together and left the house. If he crossed paths with another living sole on his journey home he hardly knew, for a red haze had permeated his vision and

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It is said that what healing needs most is time, and that is true. The next year saw the strange family in the unplotable house grow closer. Harry loved his father to the point of worship and Sirius stumbled wonderfully through his first year of parenthood, Draco slowly satisfied his craving for guidance and acceptance with the man who had hardly ever been accepted and Remus reveled in the openness and caring of his young charges, Neville found his place among four people who never judged his softer side and his confidence grew. Dumbledore continued to have strange visits from the elves, and slowly began to relax and believe that things might actually be ok in the end. Lily and James clung to their remaining children like a life boat. The twins wanted for nothing and the Potters carefully crafted their public appearance to be loved by all. Severus was perhaps the least helped by the years passing as his world turned greyer still with the knowledge that Lily Potter would never again be a spark of light in his gloomy existence.

Aegelweard and Vilhjalmur continued to train, unaware of the passage of time.


End file.
